ATTICA. Athens. Circa 545-525/15 BC. Obol (Silver, 8 mm, 0.63 g), 'Wappenmünzen' type. Wheel with four spokes, struts and central boss. Rev. Irregular quadripartite incuse square. HGC 4, 1653. Seltman pl. IV, ν. Svoronos pl. 1, 60-1. Rare. Beautifully toned and unusually well preserved, with a lovely old cabinet tone. Slightly granular and with some horn silver and minor traces of corrosion, otherwise, about extremely fine.

While Athenian coinage is best known for the ubiquitous owl tetradrachms struck en masse in the 5th century BC, its origins were quite different. Athens’ first coinage emerged during the Peisistratid tyranny (546-510 BC), a period when the city had yet to transition to democracy. The obverse designs of these archaic coins - featuring motifs such as four-spoked wheels, amphorae, scarabs, gorgoneia, frogs, and the like - were once interpreted as emblems of powerful noble families involved in coin production. This anachronistic and incorrect interpretation, reflected in the German term 'Wappenmünzen' ('heraldic coins'), is based on heraldic traditions of the medieval and modern era. The depicted coin types more likely refer to the Panathenaia, the grand festival in honor of Athena, which was held every four years under the Peisistratids. Regardless of their origins, the fall of the Peisistratids marked the abrupt end of the Wappenmünzen series. With the establishment of democracy, Athens rapidly adopted the iconic imagery of a helmeted Athena on the obverse and an owl on the reverse. This standardized design would dominate Athenian coinage for centuries, putting an end to the city’s early experiments with varied numismatic imagery.