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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Alegandron, post: 3058327, member: 51347&quot;]I am starting to collect some very interesting TINY coins: <b>The <i>OTHER </i>Tets</b>, not Tetradrachmae, however, as in <b><i>TETartemorions</i></b>.</p><p><br /></p><p>I am drawn to this denonimation of Ancient Greek world coins as they are the tiny change you needed for everyday, small transactions.&nbsp; A Silver Drachm at that time was probably a whole day&#039;s wage, or a huge amount. </p><p><br /></p><p>This was during the time of Human History that TOKEN coinage, such as Bronze or Copper coins were not &quot;invented&quot; to represent smaller denominations.&nbsp; The Drachm was then divided down into smaller and smaller coins (or larger), until you got to Tetartemorion and HALF-Tetartemorion sizes (hemitetartemorion).</p><p><br /></p><p>Since Bronze coinage were not in use yet, Tetartemorions were circulating during the Early Age of Ancient Coins.&nbsp; Cool.</p><p><br /></p><p><i><b>Wikipedia</b></i> does a great job illustrating the Greek world Ancient Silver into smaller denominations:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]766646[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The fantastic DETAIL that the Cellators incorporated into their dies is amazing.&nbsp; They worked with <u><b>no</b></u> magnifying glasses, using ancient tools, and had wonderful creativity to make these designs!</p><p><br /></p><p>The Tetartemorions and Hemitetartemorions are an incredible denomination.&nbsp; Being soooo small, I can understand why it was purported that people would hold their coins in their mouths when they went to market....</p><p><br /></p><p>These smaller coins were not &quot;hoarded&quot; like the larger denominations.&nbsp; Rather, they seem to be generally found in market places where they were &quot;lost&quot; or dropped in their everyday use.&nbsp; So, finding these makes them a little more scarce.&nbsp; I akin it to today&#039;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.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here are my Tets so far:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]766649[/ATTACH]</p><p>ASIA MINOR Uncertain mint AR Tetartemorion Lion - Incuse <b>5mm 0.13g</b></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]766650[/ATTACH]</p><p>ARKADIA Tegea AR Tetartemorion <b>0.2g 6mm</b> 423-400 BCE Helmeted hd Athena Alea T within incuse BCD Peloponnesos 1721 HGC 5</p><p>Ex: [USER=42773]@John Anthony[/USER]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]766651[/ATTACH]</p><p>CILICIA Uncertn Early-mid 4th C BCE AR Tetartemorion <b>5mm 0.17g</b> Persian king running dagger and bow - Crowned hd Achaemenid king CNG E239 Troxell Kagan 4</p><p><b><i>This fits into my Achaemenid / Persian Empire Collection</i></b></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]766652[/ATTACH]</p><p>IONIA Teos AR tetartemorion<b> 0.2g 6mm</b> Hd griffin R mouth open - Quadripartite incuse SNG Turkey 602</p><p>Ex: [USER=42773]@John Anthony[/USER]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]766653[/ATTACH]</p><p>CARIA Mylasa 525-495 BCE AR Tetartemorion <b>0.28g 6mm</b> Hd roaring lion R - Bird stndng L pellet incuse sq SNG Keckman 922 SNG Kayhan 944</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]766654[/ATTACH]</p><p>Ionia Miletos AR Tetartemorion <b>5.6mm 0.21g</b> Roaring Lion Hd - Bird Klein 430 SNG Kay 941</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]766655[/ATTACH]</p><p>Ionia Miletos AR Tetartemorion <b>5.6mm 0.21g</b> Roaring Lion Hd - Bird Klein 430 SNG Kay 941</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]766656[/ATTACH]</p><p>Ionia AR Tetartemorion <b>4mm 0.13g</b> 530-500 BCE Rosette - Incuse sq punch 5 pellets SNG von Aulock 1807</p><p>Ex [USER=42773]@John Anthony[/USER]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]766657[/ATTACH]</p><p>Iona Kolophon AR Tetartemorion 530-520 BCE Archaic Apollo Incuse Punch <b>0.15g 4.5mm</b>- SNG Kayhan 343</p><p>Ex: Yeah, John again... <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b><i><font size="6"><span style="color: #b30000">SHOW US YOUR </span></font><font size="7"><span style="color: #b30000">TETS</span></font><font size="6"><span style="color: #b30000">!</span></font></i></b>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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