Athens, Attica

Silver tetradrachm, 24 mm, 16.39 gm.
Obv: Head of Athena, right, wearing a crested helmet decorated with three olive leaves.
Rev: A Q E, An owl standing, an olive twig, all within incuse square.

Minted in Athens, 454-404 BC.

Athens was the center of Greek culture in the 5th century BC. These are the coins that were issued to pay the artists and stonecutters who built the Parthenon and the armies of Athens in its disastrous war against Sparta.