ATHENS SILVER TETRADRACHM – EXCEPTIONAL ARCHAIC GII DORIC STYLE ISSUE FROM THE CHARLES GILLET COLLECTION – VF GREEK ATTICA COIN (Inv. 20062)

SOLD

20062. ATTICA. ATHENS. Ca. 510/500–480 BC.
Silver Tetradrachm, 17.12 g, 21 mm. Issue of the early Archaic period, ca. 510 BC.
Obv. Helmeted head of Athena right. Rev. ΑΘΕ, owl standing right, head facing, olive sprig in left field, all within incuse square.
Seltman Group Gii “Doric Style,” no. 228 (A150/P182, this obverse die) and Seltman 231 (A153/P185, this reverse die), hence a new die combination; Svoronos pl. 4, 3; HGC 4, 1589; Gillet 922 (this coin).
Ex Charles Gillet Collection, no. 922 = NAC 138, 5/18/2023, lot 181.
Good VF and of outstanding Archaic style with a well–articulated eye, glossy dark gray patina, and an exceptional pedigree.

This spectacular Athenian tetradrachm, struck from silver from the Laurion mines in the years leading up to the Persian invasion of Greece, once belonged to Charles Gillet (1879–1972), the son of a prominent French industrialist and director of the businesses that ultimately became the important chemical firm Rhône–Poulenc. The great wealth that accrued to Gillet from inheritance and business success permitted him to become a collector of art, including coins. He probably began collecting Greek coins in the 1920s, and ultimately amassed a collection of exceptionally beautiful coins, often from famous collection sales. Gillet has a reputation for developing his collection with an outstanding eye for beauty, rarity, and quality, as is apparent from this Athenian piece. Although Gillet began to sell off some parts of his collection in the 1950s, many of its stars were sold after his death in the legendary anonymous sale simply entitled “Griechische Münzen aus der Sammlung eines Kunstfreundes.”