Show us your (other) Tets!

I am starting to collect some very interesting TINY coins: The OTHER Tets, not Tetradrachmae, however, as in TETartemorions.

I am drawn to this denonimation of Ancient Greek world coins as they are the tiny change you needed for everyday, small transactions. A Silver Drachm at that time was probably a whole day's wage, or a huge amount.

This was during the time of Human History that TOKEN coinage, such as Bronze or Copper coins were not "invented" to represent smaller denominations. The Drachm was then divided down into smaller and smaller coins (or larger), until you got to Tetartemorion and HALF-Tetartemorion sizes (hemitetartemorion).

Since Bronze coinage were not in use yet, Tetartemorions were circulating during the Early Age of Ancient Coins. Cool.

Wikipedia does a great job illustrating the Greek world Ancient Silver into smaller denominations:



The fantastic DETAIL that the Cellators incorporated into their dies is amazing. They worked with no magnifying glasses, using ancient tools, and had wonderful creativity to make these designs!

The Tetartemorions and Hemitetartemorions are an incredible denomination. Being soooo small, I can understand why it was purported that people would hold their coins in their mouths when they went to market....

These smaller coins were not "hoarded" like the larger denominations. Rather, they seem to be generally found in market places where they were "lost" or dropped in their everyday use. So, finding these makes them a little more scarce. I akin it to today's behavior where a lot of people would not bother picking up a cent or a penny or any tiny denomination coin when they dropped them.

Here are my Tets so far:


ASIA MINOR Uncertain mint AR Tetartemorion Lion - Incuse 5mm 0.13g


ARKADIA Tegea AR Tetartemorion 0.2g 6mm 423-400 BCE Helmeted hd Athena Alea T within incuse BCD Peloponnesos 1721 HGC 5
Ex: @John Anthony


CILICIA Uncertn Early-mid 4th C BCE AR Tetartemorion 5mm 0.17g Persian king running dagger and bow - Crowned hd Achaemenid king CNG E239 Troxell Kagan 4
This fits into my Achaemenid / Persian Empire Collection


IONIA Teos AR tetartemorion 0.2g 6mm Hd griffin R mouth open - Quadripartite incuse SNG Turkey 602
Ex: @John Anthony


CARIA Mylasa 525-495 BCE AR Tetartemorion 0.28g 6mm Hd roaring lion R - Bird stndng L pellet incuse sq SNG Keckman 922 SNG Kayhan 944


Ionia Miletos AR Tetartemorion 5.6mm 0.21g Roaring Lion Hd - Bird Klein 430 SNG Kay 941


Ionia Miletos AR Tetartemorion 5.6mm 0.21g Roaring Lion Hd - Bird Klein 430 SNG Kay 941


Ionia AR Tetartemorion 4mm 0.13g 530-500 BCE Rosette - Incuse sq punch 5 pellets SNG von Aulock 1807
Ex @John Anthony


Iona Kolophon AR Tetartemorion 530-520 BCE Archaic Apollo Incuse Punch 0.15g 4.5mm- SNG Kayhan 343
Ex: Yeah, John again...


SHOW US YOUR TETS!

 

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Those are some amazingly tiny coins @Alegandron I really like the Rossette-Incuse with 5 pellets. Hopefully you won't sneeze while handling one of them. The closest coin I have in terms of size is a diobol from Miletos, and it is roughly 8 times the size, in terms of weight, as a tetartemorion.

IONIA. Miletos AR Diobol, 10mm, 1.2g; Late 6th-early 5th century BC.
Obv: Forepart of lion right, head left.
Rev: Stellate design within incuse square.
SNG Kayhan 476-82; SNG Keckman 273

 

VERY nice @TheRed ! The detail is fantastic for such a small coin.

I have a few of those little guys...


Iona-Miletos Late6thC fine lion laying LEFT facing RIGHT


Iona-Miletos AR Obol Late6thC crystallized lion laying LEFT facing RIGHT

 

These tiny coins are fascinating!

I never know what to call them though (the same weight name varies by region?) and so generally just state the size and weight. Here's a composite of my smaller AR coins-- might have a few more since this composite was assembled. Sizes range from 6 mm to 11 mm.




The smallest in that group shows a monkey / shield. When it arrived at the office I made the mistake of excitedly opening the flip... and naturally it went flying. The carpet is berber. In a panic I shut the door and wouldn't let anyone in until finding the coin and that took a while! Here's a picture in situ when it was found. See if you can spot it. Scroll for the location.


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It was on edge and resting in a crevice.


MACEDONIA, uncertain
c. 500 BCE
AR trihemitetartemorion (trihemiobol), 5 mm, 0.26 gm
Obv: monkey squatting left
Rev: round shield or pellet within incuse square
Ref: "Uncertain Thraco-Macedonian Coins, Part II", Nomismatika Khronika (1998, Tzamalis), 67

 

Awesome coins

best I can do:


Ar 0.249g, 6.7mm
Elea?, Aeolis, AR Hemiobol. Late 5th century BC. Head of Athena left, in crested helmet / E L A I, around olive wreath, all within incuse square. SNG Cop 164 ex Forvm

 

My only Tet, of any kind:


Asia Minor. Uncertain mint circa 500-400 BC. Tetartemorion AR 5mm., 0,17g. Helmet left / Amphora within linear square . Unpublished in the standard references, but for similar see CNG E-334, Lot 152, CNG E-288, lot 258 and 259. VF, toned.

From CNG's auction of a similar coin:

"Varieties of this type have appeared at auction recently, and have been tentatively attributed to Neandria in Troas, where an early fraction featured a helmet on the obverse. While an attribution to a mint in that region is reasonable, Neandria is probably not correct, as its early fractions consistently feature a ram or barley grain on the reverse, which were emblematic of the city. At the same time, the nearby city of Larissa consistently featured an amphora on the reverse of nearly all of its coinage, which would make it a more likely candidate."

These are my three favorite fractions that I own, though:



Sicily. Akragas circa 470-460 BC. Obol AR. 9mm., 0,62g. Eagle standing left on Ionic capital, AK-RA (partially retrograde) around / Crab; ΛI below. nearly very fine. SNG ANS 994; SNG Copenhagen 49.




Caria. Mylasa circa 450-400 BC. Hemiobol AR 6mm.,0,51g. Facing forepart of lion / Scorpion within incuse square. very fine. SNG Keckman 917; SNG Kayhan 934-8; SNG von Aulock 7803.




Lesbos. Mytilene circa 440-400 BC.Obol AR 8mm., 0,62g. Head of Apollo right, wearing taenia / MYTI, head of bull right within incuse square. very fine BMC 5; HGC 6, 1039.

 

Here is a tiny one:


Ionia, Magnesia. 5th Century BC. AR Tetartemorion (0.15 gm, 5mm).
Obv.: youthful head (of Apollo?) right, [M-A].
Rev.: ΓNH, bull butting right over maeander pattern.
SNG Kayhan 399 var. (without reverse legend). Cf. Hauck & Aufhäuser 19 (2006), lot 121.

Most sellers describe this coin as "rare". Perhaps it is not so rare? The type is missing in the major collections but available on the market. Eight specimens on acsearch.com are described as tetartemorions. Five more are described as hemiobols. Most are in worse condition than mine. One is better.

Many people believe that the reason tetartemorion-sized coins are not in the public collections is that those collections were formed before metal detecting. In uncleaned state these things look like pebbles. It is only the blip of the detector that earns them a second look.

"Apollo"'s hairstyle is very strange. I first thought this might be Medusa because the ringlets look like snakes and because Magnesia did a bronze right-facing Medusa/bull under the Seleukids. Alas no one likes my theory!

 

Yes they do!! Why do others discount that theory? Are there other instances of Apollo sporting a "pin curl" hairdo? Or, perhaps it's neither Medusa nor Apollo.

 

THRACE, ABDERA
Tetrobol
OBVERSE: Griffin springing left
REVERSE: Magistrate's name around linear border, within which head of Hermes l., caduceus before; all in incuse square
Struck at Abdera 411-385 BC
2.780g, 15mm
May 279

MYLASA, CARIA
AR Tetartemorion
OBVERSE: Lion's head left with reversed foreleg below
REVERSE: Lion's scalp facing, flanked by leg on both sides, in incuse circle
Struck at Mylasa, 392-376 BC
.2g, 6mm
SNG Keckman I 837-846 (lion left)

EUBOIA, HISTIAIA
AR Tetrobol
OBVERSE: Wreathed head of Histiaia right
REVERSE: ΙΣΤ−ΑΙΕΩΝ (partially retrograde), Nymph seated on galley right; SI below
Struck at Histiaea, 369-146 BC
2.23g, 15mm
BCD 379

ATTICA ATHENS
AR Tetradrachm
OBVERSE: Helmeted head of Athena right, in crested Attic helmet decorated with three olive leaves over visor & a spiral palmette on the bowl; eye in profile
REVERSE: AQE, owl standing right, head facing; olive sprig & crescent behind
Struck at Athens 350-300 BC
16.9g, 22mm
Sg2537

PHOENICIA ARADOS
AR Tetradrachm
OBVERSE: Turreted, veiled, and draped bust of Tyche right
REVERSE: Nike standing left, holding wreath and palm frond; in left field, ZOP (date) above Aramaic B above ΘЄ; all within wreath
Arados CY 177 (83/82 BC)
14.91g, 27mm
Duyrat 3536–49; HGC 10, 72; DCA 772; BMC 239
Ex JAZ Numismatics

ATHENS ATTICA
AR Tetradrachm
OBVERSE: Helmeted head of Athena right
REVERSE: Owl standing right, head facing, on overturned amphora; to left, eagle standing right on thunderbolt; Gamma on amphora, ΗΡΑ in exergue; all within laurel wreath
Struck at Athens Epigene-, Sosandros and Eume(nes)-, magistrates 127/26 BC
16.8g, 30mm
Thompson 477a

 

Here is my LARGEST and SMALLEST coins have a social gathering...


Carthage AE 15-Shekel 45mm dia 7.5mm thick 102.6g vs Ionia AR Tetartemorion 4mm 0.13g
diameter: 11 to 1
Weight: 789 to 1


AMAZING to me that the THICKNESS of this coin is almost TWICE the diameter of the Tetartemorion!!!

 

I've seen several articles make the case that the ancients did have magnifying glasses, or at least they argued that they might have. Here's one example.
I've also seen pictures of polished clear crystal with magnifying properties from ancient deposits, but can't recall exactly where or when. In any case, I believe that they had some means of magnification. Here is my tet - 0.18 grams and 5 mm, from Kolophon, 530-500 BC.

 

To avoid TIF's carpet nightmare, you really should store coins this tiny in Non-PVC Air-tite containers. They protect the coin and your sanity.

 

I use them anyway. It is far too late to protect my sanity. I have more than one in some of these tubs which were intended for rock specimens. They come in a glass top box with foam cut to receive the tubs. This photo shows coins too large for this thread but it is all I have on hand.


My worst small coin and my smallest coin of Athens is this tetartemorion (1/4 obol). Yes, it is terribly off center losing Athena's whole face. The reverse is a single crescent and the legend ΑΘΕ. I bought this from Jonathan Kern before his recent retirement. I will miss him. He was one of few that could understand why I wanted this coin. I really want an Athenian 1/8 obol but have never seen one in person and most I have seen in images, I believe to be misidentified. If any of you have one or a good photo, please share.



More later. Please don't take that as a threat but I do like the little fellows.

 

On the other hand, you've got a full crest!

 

4-5mm wow that's small. curious as to what that would buy back then ? food ?

 

For the longest time, I put them between my cheek and gum.

I started accumulating too many, and my phone conversations became a little too tenuous. Then I put them into a small Kointain within a saflip with the attribute. I call them my "rattlers"

 

As a counterpoint, here is an article about a modern-day artist who creates sculptures out of pencil lead without a magnifying glass:
https://www.vegetablefruitcarving.com/blog/pencil-carving-dalton-ghetti/

It is possible that the die cutters worked more by feel than by vision. Our hands are incredibly sensitive. I have keen vision but it is easier for me to find a food particle on a china plate with my hand than with my eyes. The tools took a lot of force. It might have been difficult to aim them mostly by eye.

Modern artists usually work very differently. Here is a picture of Victor Brenner with his Lincoln Cent portrait before it was reduced to cent-size:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_David_Brenner#/media/File:Victor_David_Brenner.jpg

 

I happened to be in town on my birthday a year ago, and I found his shop. He graciously let me in, and I browsed for a while. Oh, how I wished I had more knowledge then. Then I would have really enjoyed it. I distinctly remember seeing Alexandrian tetradrachms and Japanese 20 yen gold coins. I bought a follis and a gun money shilling. Both are what I consider high quality. As I was about to leave he offered a groat of Henry VIII for $297. It was my first experience with medieval hammered coins. In hindsight it was good price for the condition, but I had just bought something from him. My mother later remarked to me that all his prices ended in seven.

 

Here is mine (Ionia 0,1g) and a comparison to a 1 Eurocent.

 

You all have the most amazing coins!! I can see how these tiny guys could be addicting, the skill involved in making them is so impressive!! I've eyed a couple in JA's auctions jealously when funds weren't available. There is a big coin show in Marlboro, Ma this weekend, and I'm going to go tomorrow. I hope there are ancients there!!