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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Al Kowsky, post: 8305570, member: 97383&quot;]When living in Santa Barbara, CA, I bought tiny Greek obol minted in Massalia from a local coin dealer for $10. I was impressed by the coin&#039;s engraving, tiny size, &amp; modest price. In those days I stored all my inexpensive coins in brown paper 2 X 2 envelopes. When I returned to Rochester, NY in late 1974 I brought the coin with me, or so I thought. I kept all my coins in my parents 600 lb. safe while looking for an apartment. After finding a place to live &amp; getting settled I did an inventory of my coins. Al the coins were there except the obol from Massalia <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie3" alt=":(" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />. Did I forget the coin or toss out the envelope thinking it was empty <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie12" alt="o_O" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />? I vowed never to buy such a small coin again <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie4" alt=":mad:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />, until I saw this Greek obol in a recent Heritage auction. Being in a slab it would be nearly impossible to lose it <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie85" alt=":smuggrin:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />. I left a pre-bid on the coin for $35 &amp; ended up winning it for $32 + a $29 buyers fee, &amp; $7.95 for shipping. I was happy with the purchase for $68.95 <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie50" alt=":happy:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1469859[/ATTACH] </p><p><b>GAUL. Marssalia (present day Marseilles, France), Circa 100-50 BC. AR Obol: 9 mm, 3 h, weight approximately .6 gm. Obverse: Bare head of Apollo facing left. Reverse: M-A within two spokes of wheel. SNG Copenhagen 723-727.</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p>To get a better idea how small the coin is see the slab photo below.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1469874[/ATTACH] </p><p>Photos courtesy of NGC &amp; Heritage.</p><p><br /></p><p>Massalia obols are very plentiful so they must have been used frequently in daily commerce. It would take 24 obols to equal 1 Ptolemaic tetradrachm (14.3 gm). The average housemaid worked for 2 obols a day, a mud carrier worked for 3 obols a day, &amp; a ceramic potter worked for 6 obols (1 drachm) a day. So what could you buy with an obol <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie12" alt="o_O" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />? For 2 obols you could buy 1 piece of salted fish, 3 obols could buy 1 liter of olive oil (used for cooking &amp; lamp fuel), &amp; 12 obols (2 drachms) could buy an axe.</p><p>Have any other <b>CT </b>members lost a tiny ancient coin <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie7" alt=":p" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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