Athena’s Owls Take Flight: Spectacular Greek Coin Collection to Debut at ANA 2026
A lifelong search for beauty led Southern California collector Eva Qin to ancient Greek coins. Now, that passion will bring one of today’s most important private holdings of classical Athenian silver before the public.
The American Numismatic Association will display 14 coins from Qin’s Arcadia Collection during the 2026 World’s Fair of Money®. The convention will take place August 25-29 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The exhibit will mark the first public appearance of these coins.
The coins span nearly the full range of classical Athenian silver denominations. They begin with a tiny seven-millimeter hemiobol. At the other extreme stands a massive and exceptionally rare Athenian dekadrachm.
Together, the coins tell a story of art, trade, military power, and the rise of Athens across the ancient Mediterranean.
An Athenian Dekadrachm Anchors the Exhibit
The ANA will present the Arcadia Collection coins in its Museum Showcase area at booth #1430.
Classical Numismatic Group has assisted Qin as she developed the collection. CNG Manager of Consignments Kan Liu, known professionally as Vera Liu, called it one of the most carefully assembled private collections of classical Greek coins formed in recent years. CNG’s current staff directory confirms Liu’s position and identifies David S. Michaels as the company’s Manager of Shows and Consignments.
“The Arcadia Collection is not only about Athenian silver,” Liu said. “However, we are only showing this portion for the time being.”
The exhibit’s centerpiece will command immediate attention. Liu describes its Athenian dekadrachm as one of the finest surviving examples of that celebrated denomination.
Ancient engravers created the imposing silver coin on a scale rarely attempted in Athens. Moreover, its extraordinary value placed it far beyond the needs of routine commerce.
“The dekadrachm carried such great value that people could not have used it practically for everyday transactions,” Michaels explained.
From a Seven-Millimeter Coin to a Monument in Silver
The 14-coin exhibit traces almost the complete classical Athenian denomination system.
Every coin carries a portrait of Athena on the obverse. The city’s patron goddess wears her distinctive helmet. Meanwhile, the reverse features the owl sacred to Athena. The owl became one of the ancient world’s most familiar and trusted monetary symbols.
The design communicated more than civic identity. It also linked Athens with wisdom, military strength, political authority, and commercial reliability.
Athenian coins followed the Attic weight standard. Under that system, one silver drachm weighed about 4.3 grams. A didrachm represented two drachms. A tetradrachm represented four and generally weighed about 17.2 grams. Finally, the dekadrachm equaled 10 drachms and could weigh approximately 43 grams.
The Ashmolean Museum notes that Athens struck its coins from highly pure silver. That consistency strengthened confidence in the currency. As Athens expanded its economic and political influence, other communities also adopted the Attic standard.
Consequently, Athenian “owls” traveled far beyond the city that produced them.
The Coins That Carried Athens Across the Mediterranean
Michaels calls the Arcadia Collection “an important holding of spectacular coins.”
He also places the coins within a much larger historical story.
“The different denominations of Athenian owls became the most widely used international trade coins of their era,” he said. “They also helped spread Greek culture throughout the Mediterranean world.”
That reach made the Athenian owl much more than local currency. Merchants could recognize its design quickly. Traders could also rely on its weight and silver content. Therefore, the coins supported commerce between people who spoke different languages and followed different local customs.
At the same time, the imagery advertised Athens wherever the coins traveled.
The goddess Athena represented the city on one side. Her owl represented it on the other. Even people who could not read the Greek ethnic inscription could identify the issuing authority.
The coins also offer a tangible way to understand the scale of the ancient Athenian economy.
According to Michaels, a skilled artisan or a soldier during peacetime could receive about one drachm for a day’s work. During wartime, a foot soldier could receive two drachms per day. An oarsman serving aboard a warship could earn one drachm per day.
Ancient wage rates changed according to date, occupation, military circumstances, and available state funds. However, surviving evidence supports one drachm as a documented daily rate for many Athenian sailors and as a useful benchmark for some skilled workers and soldiers during parts of the Classical period.
Against that background, a 10-drachm dekadrachm represented a substantial concentration of wealth.
A Lifelong Pursuit of Beauty
Qin did not begin as a traditional coin collector.
Instead, her interest grew from a lifelong attraction to jewelry, miniature artworks, and finely made decorative objects. She began collecting ancient coins in 2020.
“I began because of a lifelong pursuit of beauty,” Qin said. “I have always felt drawn to jewelry and finely crafted objects d’art.”
Above all, she looked for objects that combined three qualities: aesthetic beauty, exceptional craftsmanship, and a connection with human civilization.
“For years, I sought that combination in the things I collected,” she said.
Coin jewelry first introduced Qin to ancient numismatics. However, the coins soon claimed her full attention.
“The more I learned about these coins, the more fascinated I became,” she said.
At first, Qin associated ancient Greek coins mainly with museum displays. She viewed them as important objects that people could admire only from behind glass.
Then, she discovered another world.
Private collectors could study the coins closely. They could compare dies, styles, denominations, and historical settings. They could also build collections with clear themes and scholarly purpose.
That realization transformed her interest into a serious collecting pursuit.
Ancient Coins as Art and Historical Evidence
At first, the beauty of Greek coinage captivated Qin. Yet history soon became just as important.
“As I continued to learn, I developed a much deeper interest in the history and civilization behind the coins,” she explained.
Each coin began as a carefully prepared piece of metal. An ancient mint worker placed that blank between engraved dies. Then, the worker struck it with a hammer. The process transferred the designs into the silver. The Ashmolean Museum describes the same fundamental hand-striking method in its guide to ancient Greek coin production.
As a result, no two surviving pieces look completely identical.
Differences in centering, strike, die condition, metal preparation, and preservation give every coin its own character. For Qin, those details connect artistic creation with human experience.
“Each coin was hammer-struck more than 2,000 years ago,” she said. “It serves both as a magnificent work of ancient Greek art and as a precious artifact carrying the weight of history.”
That combination now guides the Arcadia Collection.
“For me, ancient Greek coins represent the perfect intersection of art, craftsmanship, and human civilization,” Qin said. “They connect deeply with both my understanding of beauty and my philosophy of collecting.”
More than any other factor, she added, that intersection inspired her to collect ancient Greek coins.
The Arcadia Collection Will Extend Beyond Athens
The Pittsburgh exhibit will reveal only one part of Qin’s collection.
Although the ANA display concentrates on Athenian silver, Qin has also assembled artistic coins from other historic Greek city-states. She plans to exhibit those pieces at future numismatic conventions.
Therefore, the 2026 World’s Fair of Money will serve as an introduction rather than a conclusion.
For collectors, the exhibit will provide a rare chance to examine the Athenian monetary system through exceptional surviving coins. For noncollectors, it will show how small pieces of struck silver carried art, identity, commerce, and political influence across the ancient world.
Most importantly, the exhibit will demonstrate why ancient coins still inspire collectors after more than two millennia.
How to See the Arcadia Collection at ANA 2026
The ANA will display the 14 Athenian coins from the Arcadia Collection in the Museum Showcase area at booth #1430.
The 2026 World’s Fair of Money will run from Tuesday, August 25, through Saturday, August 29, at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, 1000 Fort Duquesne Boulevard, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
For additional information about the Arcadia Collection, contact Vera Liu at [email protected].
