THE OWLS OF ATHENS
Image courtesy Guy Clark
One of the first coins used for trade was issued by Athens in the Fifth Century B.C.E. Athena wearing a plumed helmet graced the obverse, and her sacred bird was pictured on the back. The coin served to advertise the city, with an olive branch depicting its main export (olive oil), and the first three letters of its name. This coin became THE trade coin of the Eastern Mediterranean for almost 400 years.
Note that ancient coins are irregular in shape. The ancient minting process was done entirely by hand. Designs were carved into obverse and reverse dies; one die would be stationary and one movable (more on this later). The coiner would place a coin blank between the dies and hit the movable die with a hammer, usually several times. The design would be impressed into the blank and the next coin made. There was nothing to keep the coin perfectly round as in modern coin presses, so the resulting coin's shape was irregular.
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