These are Athenian tetradrachms. The head is Athena and the 'tail' is the owl, her symbol. These coins were the trade dollars of their time. Beautiful examples may go for $1000 or so, but you can get a nice one for $400. A bit high for my price range.
Roman coins--little coppers dime to penny sized can be had for $1 or so. A project I do with my 8th graders involves cleaning and identifying Roman coins. I get them (nice ones) for $2 each.
That sounds great. I wonder of the kids appreciate they are handling something was used 1500 to 2000 years ago?
I can't afford to buy any either, just wondering of the value. Thanks for the information.