Tiny masterpieces/Great things in small currencies

Geez, Ryro, you're making me regret putting the one you mention up for sale!

Some of my faves, in descending order of size:

Mytilene, Lesbos; EL hemihekte, 10.5mm 2.55g:


Mysia: Cyzicus (525-475 BCE) obol, 10mm 0.84g:


Pisidia: Selge (300-190 BCE) obol, 10mm 0.78g


Cilicia: Tarsos (389-375 BCE) obol, 9mm 0.72g:



Persian Empire: Darius I to Xerxes I (505-480 BCE) 1/12 siglos, 8mm 0.48g:


Caria: Kasolaba (400-340 BC) hemiobol, 8mm 0.43g:


Lampsakos, c. 400 BCE tetartemorion, 6.5mm 0.18g:


Thraco-Macedonian tribes, 5th c. BCE tetartemorion, 6mm 0.23g:



Magnesia ad Maeandrum under Themistokles (465-459 BCE) tetartemorion, 5.5mm 0.21g:

 

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Love the Katane litra but that Bes freakin awesome!


Taras, Calabria AR Triartemorion. 10mm, 0.43gm.


Caria, Kasolaba. Hemiobol. 7mm., 0.55g.

 

Dinky Gold


Carthage - Zeugitana
AV 1/10th Stater-Shekel
350-320 BCE
0.94g 7.5mm
Palm-
Horse Head
SNG COP 132

 

Hi again, after reading your last post (and admiring it so), I thought you might provide some background on the following:

 

I'm sure @JayAg47 can provide more detail, but I have a similar coin which is a "Viraraya" fanam from Sri Lanka (or the Malabar coast?) c. 1600-1800:

Apparently the obverse depicts a lion with a crescent above (more apparent on yours), and the reverse is a boar.

 

Afaik these Viraraya fanams came from the kingdom of Travancore (Malabar coast).
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces39364.html

 

The comments section on the page you link says "Though the Viraraya fanams (KM29 silver and KM30 gold) are listed under Travancore they were issued by rulers in Ceylon. They were probably found in Travancore because they are close to each other geographically and coins might have been used in trade." Or maybe they were produced in both places?

 

I'm not huge on tiny coins, but my smallest Greek bronze is this little 12mm of Adramyteion.
The artistry on such a small coin is astounding. There's no way magnification of some sort wasn't used for these coins.




I also have a gorgeous Corinthian AE12 with pegasus and elaborate trident. Great example of a 5/5 strike with 0/5 surfaces.

 

I see the confusion, so here is my take on this coin, I believe it was issued by the Travancore kingdom, because by 1800s Sri Lanka, aka Ceylon was fully under the control of the British, who issued Sri Lankan rupees portraying Victoria, and even in the 1700s, Ceylon was under the control of the Dutch, who issued Duit.
However the kingdom of Travancore was an independent principality who issued own coins, Travancore is a place where they mostly worship Vishnu, known as Vaishnavites, and one of his icons is his feet! the obverse of the coin features a stylised form of Vishnu's feet, with a religious symbol above, whereas Ceylon have Buddhists and Siva following Hindus known as Shaivites. In the Numista description they've mentioned stylised lion, which is wrong.
My post on this iconography https://www.cointalk.com/threads/battle-of-kandalur-salai.381498/
Although the coin would've been issued in the Malabar coast, nothing is stopping people from taking it to Ceylon for trading and stuffs!

 

Small bronzes I have:



Aiolis. Myrina circa 400-300 BC. Bronze Æ 10 mm., 0,69 g.
Helmeted head of Athena right
Amphora "MY-PI"
SNG Cop 216-220; SNG Munich 570



Seleukid Kingdom. Sardeis. Antiochos III Megas 223-187 BC. Bronze Æ 12 mm., 1,96 g.
http://numismatics.org/sco/id/sc.1.981
Obv - Laureate head of Apollo right, with spiral curls
Rev - Legend: BAΣΙΛΕΩΣ ANTIOXOY (vertical left and right), monogram
above elephant

Type: Elephant standing left




Seleukid Kingdom. Sardeis. Antiochos I Soter 281-261 BC. Bronze Æ 13 mm., 2,62 g
Athena facing, wearing triple-crested Attic helmet; reverse Nike walking left, raising wreath in right hand, long palm frond over left shoulder in left hand, BAΣIΛEΩΣ (king) downward on right, ANTIOXOY downward on right, symbol in circle outer left (control), no control right



Aiolis. Kyme circa 350-320 BC.
Bronze Æ
11 mm., 1,19 g.
Kyme, Aeolis, c. 350-250 BC. AE 10mm; 1.05g. Eagle standing right / K-Y to left and right of cup with one handle. BMC 16-20; SNG von Aulock 1625; SNG Newcastle SNGuk_1301_0449.




Bronze Æ 11 mm., 1,68 g.
CARIA. Mylasa. Ae (Circa 210-30 BC). Obv: Forepart of horse right. Rev: MYΛΑΣΕΩΝ. Ornate trident head. SNG Keckman 225.

 

Thanks for the clarification - very interesting!

 

Some of my favorites under 10mm...


BRUTTIUM, Rhegion
AR Litra. 0.57g, 9.2mm. BRUTTIUM, Rhegion, circa 480-462 BC. Anaxilas, tyrant. SNG Cop 1926; HGC 1, 1649 (R1); Sear Greek 497 (as obol). O: Hare leaping right. R: REC (retrograde).
Ex E.E. Clain-Stefanelli Collection

THESSALY, Pherai
AR Hemiobol. 0.27g, 8.3mm. THESSALY, Pherai, circa 360s-350s BC. BCD Thessaly II 694; HGC 4, 563; Imhoof-Blumer 1908, p. 93, 277, pl. VI, 38; cf. Nomos 4, 1306 corr. O: Head of Ennodia right: R: Φ - E, hunting dog sitting right.
Ex BCD Collection


ATTICA, Aegina
AR Hemiobol. 0.52g, 7mm. ATTICA, Aegina, circa 480-457 BC. SNG Cop 512-3; HGC 6, 453; SNG Delepierre 1521. O: Cutest little sea turtle ever. R: Large square incuse with skew pattern.
Ex E.E. Clain-Stefanelli Collection

Shot of it swimming alongside full-size mama stater:



And the smallest one I have, with a perspective shot of it below next to a grain of rice.


IONIA, Teos
AR Tetartemorion. 0.14g, 4.7mm. IONIA, Teos, circa 540-478 BC. Cf. CNG 63, lot 506. O: Head of griffin left. R: Quadripartite incuse square with raised central pellet.

 

I'm also a big fan of tiny silver fractions

My smallest : an onkia of Syracuse 0.06g with a pellet as a mark of value




Rhegion Litra 0.8g
Kroisos 1/12th of stater 0.7g
Syracuse Litra 0.8g



Naxos Hexas 0.15g
Samians in Zancle tetartemorion 0.13g
Katane Hexas 0.12g

 

I was photographing and appreciating my tiny coin:



5 mm. 0.16 grams.
Caria, city of Mylassa. 420-390 BC.
Lion's head left.
Bird standing left (parts are weak), two dots in field
SNG Turkey I Konuk 941 (0.22 grams), Klein --, SNG von Aulock --, Sear Greek -- but belongs near 4819.

Then I thought of posting it. So I searched CT on "tiny coin" and found this thread. I see others have already posted the same type. Here is one more photo just in case the size of 5 mm does not mean much to you:



That's small! Get out your magnifying glass!

 

I bought two small Greeks this summer:



Troas, Abydos. AR Obol, ca 480-450 BC.

Obverse: Facing gorgoneion, tongue protruding

Reverse: Eagle standing left; monogram T above.

Reference: BMC 13, GCV 4004

Weight :0.7g Diameter: 9mm Conservation: Very fine.



Troas, Kebren. AR Tritartemorion, ca 480-450 BC.

Obverse: Forepart of ram right.

Reverse: Quadripartite incuse square

Reference: SNG Copenhagen 257-258, GCV 4063

Weight :0.5g Diameter: 7mm Conservation: Very fine.

 

These all look large compared to some of the coins in this thread.

Thrace, Black Sea Coast, Istros, Trihemiobol or 1/4 Drachm (1.20g, 9mm), circa 313-280 BCE Obv: Facing male heads, the right inverted. Rev: ΙΣΤΡΙΗ, sea eagle right, grasping dolphin with talons; monogram (AΓ or AΠ? magistrate or control mark?) below dolphin.
Notes: "Good things come in small packages III"

Ionia, Magnḗsĭa ad Mæándrum, circa 400 BC, Æ 9.3mm (0.48 g, 12h), Rare - especially in this condition
Obv: Laureate head of Apollo left
Rev: M-A, Cuirass between
Ref: SNG Kayhan 393
Notes: "Good things come in small packages II"

Sicily, Akragas (Agrigentum), circa 450-440 BC, AR litra, (10 mm, 0.56g, 3h). Obv: ΑΚ - RΑ, eagle, with closed wings, standing left on Ionic column capital with large volutes, dots at center of volutes
Rev: ΛΙ Crab
Ref: HGC 2, 121. Westermark 455-504 (dies appear to be O21/R20 see image below)
Notes: "Good things come in small packages I"

 

I need to get around to taking proper pictures of my smallest coins. It's a tough go. They come out really grainy.

This one is the teeniest coming in around a whopping 1/8th of a gram. Not sure on a proper ID.

ASIA MINOR. Uncertain. AR Tetartemorion. (Circa 5th century BC). (5mm .13g).
O: Head of bull right.
R: Star of four rays, with pellet at center; all within incuse square.

 

Here's the smallest denomination of Greek silver coinage, the hemitetartemorion. You'd need to save up 48 of these to exchange them for a single drachm.



IONIA. Uncertain. Circa 520-480 BC. Hemitetartemorion (Silver, 4 mm, 0.10 g). Rosette on raised disk. Rev. Cruciform incuse with pellet in center and in each arm.

 

Since this thread has been kissed back to life again: here's a bearded Herakles I like.



Given the condition of my eyes, I should focus on tetradrachms, not tiny fractions...

 

My newest tiny coin is this tetartemorion of Hekatomnos of Mylasa, satrap of Caria (c. 395-397 BCE). It's 5.5mm and 0.24g. The obverse lion has problems, but I thought the tiny portrait of Apollo on the reverse was pretty amazing. It's great in hand! Still need to take my own photo.



I love that tiny gorgon, @svessien, and that cuirass is fantastic, @Sulla80!