The Athenian dekadrachm is one of the rarest coins of the ancient world. These heavy coins weighed approximately 43 grams and were equivalent to ten Athenian drachmas. They are distinguished by their characteristic reverse side where the glauca is depicted frontally. Athens issued dekadrachms on a single occasion, during the 5th century BC. These coins were initially associated by scholars with the discovery of a new vein of silver at Lavrion (483 BC) or with the Persian Wars as a victory coin (479 BC).
Recent research has shown that the dekadrachms constitute an issue integrated into Athenian coinage, which must be dated later. The coinage was probably issued after the great victory of Cimon at the Eurymedon River (466 BC) and, apart from being rather commemorative in nature, it also had a certain duration in time. Recent studies are still arguing about the lower chronological limit of the series of decadrachms – ca. 450 BC or even later. Until a few years ago, there were only eleven Athenian decadrachms. Even today, the rarity of these coins remains great as the known pieces do not exceed forty-two. In 1999, with the kind donation of an anonymous donor, the Numismatic Museum managed to acquire an extremely rare and brilliant example of Athenian coinage. The valuable acquisition is also of particular importance, as its reverse side with the glauca has been the basis for the emblem of the Numismatic Museum since the early 20th century.
Duration of minting
The issue of the Athenian decadrachms is dated, according to the prevailing view, after the naval battle/battle of the Eurymedon River (466 BC). The number of known pieces currently amounts to approximately 40. From the studied samples, it appears that at least 17 dies were used for the obverse, which is indicative of a minting with a larger volume and a longer duration in time. The evolution of the style that had already been established in the classification of this particular coin series argues in this direction. Based on the traditional view of Ch. Starr the final date of the issue should not be placed after 460 BC. Of interest is the attempt to connect the late production of decadrachms with the influx of abundant precious metal (5000 talents of silver) after the transfer of the treasury of the Delian League from Delos to the Athenian acropolis in 454 BC. The dating of these coins after the mid-5th century BC and even up to the beginning of the Peloponnesian War (431-429 BC) seems, however, to be rather risky and without strong foundations in terms of stylistic analysis, but also based on historical and numismatic data.
Emblem of the Numismatic Museum
The source of inspiration for the emblem of the Numismatic Museum is the reverse side of the Athenian decadrachms, with the glaucus facing the viewer with open wings. Perhaps no more fitting symbol could be found for the Museum that houses the national numismatic collection and is also based in the city of Pallas. The idea for this theme was conceived at the beginning of the 20th century by Director Ioannis Svoronos, one of the founders of Numismatics in Greece, who based the frontal glaucus, the famous symbol of the glaucopid Athena, on the seal of the Museum. For many decades, acquiring one of these rare coins was a supreme wish. After the mid-1990s, the emblem was redesigned to become the logo of the Numismatic Museum. Shortly afterwards, the fortunate occasion of the repatriation of a brilliant specimen of an Athenian ten-drachma coin to its native land, gave greater prestige to the Museum itself, where the weighty coin is now kept.