Google did not seem to want to answer my question, so I started a thread. To all you ancient collectors, what are some large ancient coins? I'm not taking spade money or anything, but plain round coins. Did they also make any ancient coins out of odd shapes, like square, or triangle?
Loads of weird shapes... Squares, Rectangles, Ovals, and, especially, shapes I can't describe. The largest ancient that you see commonly is the 70 gram Ptolemaic (Egypt after Alexander the Great) Bronze...
Most ancient coins are basically circular in shape. Squares are probably the second most common shape.
As far as size, the Ptolemaic bronzes are some of the biggest. There is also a giant Carthaginian bronze that Windchild will salivate over: CARTHAGE. Circa 201-175 BC. Æ 15 Shekels (44mm, 93.10 g, 12h). Wreathed head of Tanit left / Horse standing right; uraeus above, pellet-in-circle below. MAA 104 var. (no pellet-in-circle); SNG Copenhagen 399 But the absolute largest known is a medallion of Valentinian I. This is one of the most impressive coins I have ever held.
Doy. I forgot to copy the description Valentinian I, AD 364-375. Silver Multiple of 24 Miliaresia (48 Siliquae) 104.3 g. 66 mm., minted at Antioch, AD 369. Diademed, cuirassed and draped bust right of Valentinian. Reverse: Legend in four lines within laurel wreath; below, "AN" (mintmark for Antioch). Unpublished, and apparently unique; cf. Kent, RIC X, p. 139 discussing the Priscus Attalus medallion of quarter-pound weight.
I had several large provincials, going up to 48mm, and medaillons over 50mm... In weight : a massive 72gm Ptolemy...
Largest Gold Coin minted in Antiquity!!! Gold 20-staterof Eucratides, the largest gold coin ever minted in Antiquity. The coin weighs 169.2 grams, and has a diameter of 58 millimeters. It was originally found in Bukhara, and later acquired by Napoleon III Cabinet des Médailles Paris. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucratides_I
Big A, awesome coin, are those your coin's..Wow.... Anoob how many of those Gold 20 Stater s do you have..Wow..
Look at you Deteco getting all the ancient guys all worked up! Great coins everyone, thanks for posting!!
The biggest round Roman coin (not a medal) is probably the aes grave decussis. They are very rare but the British Museum has one: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/publications/online_research_catalogues/search_object_details.aspx?objectid=3017922&partid=1&searchText=decussis&numpages=12&output=bibliography/!!/OR/!!/6738/!//!/A+catalogue+of+the+Roman+Republican+Coins+in+the+British+Museum,+with+descriptions+and+chronology+based+on+M.H.+Crawford,+Roman+Republican+Coinage+(1974)/!//!!//!!!/&sortBy=catNumber&orig=/research/publications/online_research_catalogues/russian_icons/catalogue_of_russian_icons.aspx&catalogueOnly=True&catparentPageId=29126&catalogueName=Roman%20Republican%20Coins%20in%20the%20British%20Museum&displayEssayResults=True¤tPage=1 For most of us a liberal as is plenty large. I saw a gorgeous one at the last Baltimore show for $9k and a dog for $3k. If you will accept rectangular bullion bars as coins, the Romans did them well: http://www.britishmuseum.org/resear...Museum&displayEssayResults=True¤tPage=1 Personally, my big coin is Ptolemaic AE46 90.1g:
