Featured History Checklist: The Ancient World in 200 coins

Here are a few more ticks. With these entered, we've covered all the major divisions (except within the Chinese group).

Sicily 500-400 BCE:

Syracuse: Tetradrachm of Hieron I (478-467 BCE)

Late Persian satrap active during Alexander’s conquest:

Spithridates c. 334 BCE, satrap of Sparta (=Lydia + Ionia)

3rd c. BCE Rhodes:

didrachm c. 250-230 BCE

Carthage, end of 3rd. c. BCE around the second Punic war:

Quarter-shekel, issued in Spain. Possible portrait of Hannibal (or another Barca).

Diocletian:


Vandal:

c. 530. Either a civic issue of Carthage or a royal issue of Hilderic.

Parthian, Mithradates II:

Drachm c. 96-91 BCE, Rhagae mint.

Tribal/civic from Northern India:

Ujjain 155-120 BCE, Three-headed god (Shiva?) holding spear/Ujjain symbol

 

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Unfortunately, that is not the case. The earliest round coins had a round hole, and it is believed that they are based on round jade disks of the same shape that held some important societal value. The square hole was developed to facilitate in the edge filing process (coins rotate less when fixed on a square peg).

Early round coin with round hole:



Shang/Zhou Dynasty jade discs (in the British Museum):



Early round coin with a square hole:

If you look closely at the reverse inner rim, you will see some nicks from where the square peg was not perfectly aligned with the square hole.

 

Aes Formatum Oscan-Latin shell with Ribs obv-rev 4th BCE 25mm 12g


RR Aes Grave Uncia 269-240 BCE Astragalus knuckle-bones


RR AE Aes Grave Sextans 270 BCE 37mm 55.2g Dioscuri R and L


RR Aes Grave AE Quadrans Dog 3 pellets Six spoked wheel 59.8g Craw 26-6a Th-Vecchi 34


RR Aes Grave Anon 280-276 BCE Triens 46mm 90.3g 9.3mm thick Tbolt-Dolphin Rome Crawford 14-3 T Vecchi 3


RR Anon AR Heavy Denarius Quadrigatus Janus 225-215 BCE Cr 28-3 Sear 31

 

Constantius II

 

I can help

Cowries, imitation cowries, and ant-nose coins:



Hollow-handle and arch-foot spades:



Flat-handled spades:



Various knives with the oldest on the right:



Early round coin with round hole (I think this should be added to the list):



Early round coin from Qi:



Early round coin from Qin:



Western Han Wu Zhus:



Wang Mang spade:



Northern Zhou coins:

 

I was just about to ask if any one had one of these. Seems that if you are trying to tell the story of world history with coins, then the "first coin" should be included in the mix!

 

Thanks @Alegandron, @randygeki, and especially @TypeCoin971793 for all the box ticks! Awesomesauce!!

I agree. I've modified the square foot spade from Liang to this (also from Liang I understand). (Square-foot spades are covered by the Mongolian issue, I should have made the two changes at the same time.) Thanks!!

This definitely ticks the the box for the first entry. It's also supposed to be tickable by the first coin in @David@PCC's list here. Do you think that's OK? or should the first Lydian coin have a dedicated entry? (The dates here are highly uncertain, I believe.)

 

I wanted to drop a few coins into this thread when it was first out but didn't have access to my photo database. Now that I'm back home, I thought I'd post a couple...

500-400 BCE
- 1 Sikyon c. 460-405 BCE (coinage used by Sparta)

SIKYONIA, Sikyon
AR Stater. 11.98g, 24.2mm. SIKYONIA, Sikyon, circa 431-400. BCD Peloponnesos 186; HGC 5, 181. O: Chimaera standing left; ΣE below. R: Dove flying left within wreath.

Roman provincial
— Macedon: see 168 BCE above
MACEDONIA, Roman Protectorate, First Meris
AR Tetradrachm. 16.84g, 32.7mm. MACEDONIA (as Roman Protectorate), First Meris, Amphipolis mint, circa 167 - 149 BC. SNG Cop 1313; Prokopov 127. O: Diademed and draped bust of Artemis right, bow and quiver over shoulder, in the center of a Macedonian shield. R: Club; monogram above, two monograms below, MAKEΔONΩN above, ΠPΩTHΣ below; all within oak wreath, thunderbolt to left.

Roman provincial
— 1 Nicaea
COMMODUS
Rare. AE Hemiassarion. 3.13g, 17.1mm. BITHYNIA, Nicaea, circa AD 177-192. RPC online 6024 (4 specimens). O: [ΑYΤ Κ Μ ΑΥΡ] ΚΟΜ ΑΝΤωΝ, laureate head right. R: ΝΙΚΑΙЄΩΝ, Mask of Silenos in profile, back-section within a liknon (winnowing-fan).


Misc. contemporary with Rome
—1 Aksum (c. 300-500)
KINGS OF AXUM, Anonymous
AE16. 1.25g, 15.5mm. Kings of Axum, Anonymous, circa AD 400-500. Munro-Hay Type 76. O: BAX + ACA, crowned bust right, holding cruciform sceptre. R: +TOV TO APECH TH XWPA (May This [the cross] Please the Country), Greek cross in circle; center with traces of gold gilding.

 

Very encouraging to see so much enthusiasm about a project. As for numismatics with, or without, history - Can numismatics even exist without history ? Numismatics, or coin collecting, is, allegedly, also known as the "Hobby of Kings".