Show us your (other) Tets!

Fantastic tiny treasures everyone!

Bart Lewis wrote an article for The Celator concerning ancient magnifying lenses. https://www.ancients.info/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&id=20

 

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Thanks for the link. Here is another link. http://www.academia.edu/467038/The_Use_of_Magnifying_Lenses_in_the_Classical_World On page five it describes a play written in 423 BC where a lens is discussed.

I often wonder if optical magnification or mechanical reduction may have been used to carve the snarl on this tiny lion's face.

Mysia Kzycos Obol

 

For some time I had been meaning to reweigh all my tiny coins ad this thread drove me to do it. Seriously, I do not know why. I have no reason to believe my scales are accurate to the advertised .01g and I have weighed the same coins more than once and got different answers. I will give the second digits but I don't believe in them.

I have often expressed doubt about the practice of collectors forcing names on denominations. Athens may have called a coin tetartemorion but another city might call it hexas and another 1/24 stater. We do not always know. I certainly do not. These are some small ones. Name them as you must.

Kyzikos .22g ex Steve x6 Tunny fish


Rhegion .10g lion head facing / RE


Syracuse hexas (two dots) Arathusa head .08g The first time I weighed it, the scales failed to register above 0 but after it set there a while it zoomed up (my previous scales said .05 but it must be eating too much???). This number is not significant.


uncertain Cilicia .20g Herakles with club over shoulder / lion with spear in mouth

uncertain Cilicia .20g Apollo? / Ares?

Mylassa, Caria lion / bird .16g


Kebren, Troas .19g ram / lion


Phokaia, Ionia .15g This is my smallest diameter coin at about 4mm but it is thicker than some that are larger in diamter.


Hekatomos, Caria .20g lion 3/4 facing head - I consider the artwork on these dies exceptional but the surfaces are poor.


....finally one we really can call a tetartemorion from Kolophon .22g The reverse retrograde TE abbreviates the denomination.


That is the ten allowed on one post. Combined, the ten weigh under 2g.
Some of these are on my page below with some of their fat cousins that still qualify as Tiny Treasures.
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/tiny.html

 

This is as small as I can, 1/24th stater...how that converts I'm not really sure. Like a hemiobol or something? 7mm about 0.55 g.





Isn't it awesome that this looks like two heads from the side or a single head straight on?? How cool!

 

Here's my smallest coin coming in at a whopping 0.21 grams!


Sicily, Syracuse
ΣVRA
Head of Arethusa right

Octopus; 3 Pellets around

0.21g

466-405 BC
Second Democracy

Very rare denomination AR tetronkion
Unlisted?

Ex-ANE

 

I really like that coin! I have a MONSTER size compared to yours! Over 12 times LARGER!


SYRACUSE 2nd Democr 466-405 BCE Æ Tetras 2.7g 15mm c.425 BCE Arethusa dolphins - Octopus 3 pellets SNG ANS 376 Calciati II.21.1

 

This is my only tet of any kind

 

Cool octopus! In have another 3x heavier than the first at a humongous 0.65g!



Sicily, Syracuse AR Litra
ΣYPA
Diademed head of Arethusa right.

Octopus.

0.65 g

c. 466-460 BC. Second Democracy

Boehringer 421; SNG ANS 131.

 

This little guy weighs around 0.1g and is 6mm in diameter. I had it as "Uncertain, Asia Minor" for years, but I believe it's Kolophon, based on a similarish coin on asiaminorcoins.com.

Ionia, Kolophon
Silver Hemitetartemorion
- Three-quarters facing Head of Apollo Klarios
- Incuse cross in incuse square




This other guy is a Thasos hemiobol with a satyr and dolphins. 0.4g and 7mm:

And, as good things come in threes, here's an Emporion 0.15g 7.5mm coin with a bit missing:


ATB,
Aidan.