FLOAT
Athens silver decadrachm, head of Athena and facing owl with spread wings, in a 1901 photographic plate of the Berlin Museum's example — the same issue as the tracked CNG-graded VF specimen, which is a different coin
Bibliothèque nationale de France (Gallica)

Athens Decadrachm (Owl)

Maker
Athens (Attica), ancient Greece
Year
c.467-465 BC
Rank
50 of 100

Athens Decadrachm (Owl)

Athens Decadrachm (Owl) by Athens (Attica), ancient Greece (c.467-465 BC) is ranked 50 in the FLOAT 100 for Coins. It sold for $375,000 on 4 January 2011. The most prestigious of all Athenian 'Owl' coins — a massive, exceedingly rare silver issue celebrating Athens' golden age.

What is it, and why is it in the FLOAT 100?

The most prestigious of all Athenian 'Owl' coins — a massive, exceedingly rare silver issue celebrating Athens' golden age.

AR silver decadrachm, head of Athena / facing owl with spread wings, c.469/5-460 BC, 42.69g, CNG-graded VF (one of ~48 known)

What is the best-sourced number for it?

Figure
$375,000
Kind
Realized at auction
Date
4 January 2011

Classical Numismatic Group (CNG), Feature Auction Triton XIV, lot 124, Jan 4 2011. Attica, Athens AR Decadrachm (42.69g), Athena / facing owl, VF lightly toned, realized $375,000 hammer (one of ~48 known). The tetradrachm 'Owl' is far more common; the decadrachm is a top-tier rarity.

This is a realized sale. Somebody paid it. Source.

How this is made

The figure
One reference price, taken from a named public source and shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
Realized or not
A realized price is a completed sale. A market asking price and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
Why no grade ladder
Most FLOAT 100 entries are individual objects. There is one of this, so there is no population and no spread across grades to show.
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2026-08-08