Not long ago I made a post sharing a tiny obol from 6th century BC Miletus and I thought that coin would be the smallest coin
I ever owned.
Welll....I was wrong.
Allow me to introduce you all to my newest, oldest and smallest coin:
A 1/24th stater from 650-600 BC Ionia!
Here are some zoomed in photos:
NOTE: The incuse punch on the reverse was meant to show that the coin was pure right down to its core.
Interestingly, despite it's tiny size this coin would still have been a significant amount of money. A little more than a day's wages!
The average worker at this time made 1 gold stater per month and this is 1/24th stater or 1/24th of the average monthly pay.
So this isn't a coin that would have been spent on small daily transactions but most likely a coin that would have been
kept as a form of savings/wealth preservation and spent on large purchases.
The thing I find the most incredible about this coin is that this coin goes back as far as the invention of coinage itself.
You would be hard pressed to find an older coin and the ones that do exist are only a few decades older at most.
Every other coin minted after it owes it's existence to coins like this one.
One thing most people point out is how easy this coin must have been to lose due to its miniscule size.
That's true! I imagine that's probably the reason why later coins (such as the drachma and denarius both of which represented
a days wages like this coin) were made larger by making them of nearly pure silver instead of a gold/silver alloy. Since there was no gold the intrinsic
value of the coin needed to be met with silver. Since silver is less valuable than gold it required a larger silver coin than an electrum coin of the same value
which was perfect since they were less likely to be lost than the tiny electrum coins.
An even older, teenier, tinier, itsier, bitsier coin!
Moderator: Daniel
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Here's a link to how to post a topic with images in our community https://coinauctionshelp.com/welcome-to ... community/
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
You also agree to follow these guidelines. You must agree to these rules to be a member of this forum. NO SPAM! Spam is deleted within minutes, no spam will ever be left in our community.
1. Post a front and back image of your coin with a specific question about what you’re seeing or asking about and one coin per topic.
2. Please remove coin from the holder unless it’s US or an official mint case or unless it is graded by a grading service.
3. Images should be taken by a camera or cell phone camera, we ask that members don’t use images through a microscope screen.
4. Always start your own topic, please don’t ask about your coin or post your coin in someone else’s coin topic.
5. Do not send private messages about your coin unless an Admin ask you too and the same for sending emails through the board.
6. No spam. Do not post any links to your coin or other non-coin websites.
7. Always be respectful even if something makes you upset or you don’t agree with a member. You can always get a second opinion elsewhere. If you have an issue then politely ask an admin in an PM. PM’s are for issues, technical and personal, but not for coin questions (refer to number 5 on this list). Our community is not a soap box for complaining or drama, so please refrain from doing so here.[/size]
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An even older, teenier, tinier, itsier, bitsier coin!
Last edited by Gam3rBlake on Tue Dec 28, 2021 11:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: An even older, teenier, tinier, itsier, bitsier coin!
Thanks for looking! :)
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Re: An even older, teenier, tinier, itsier, bitsier coin!
Amazing little piece of history!
Common grading company shortcomings & resulting co$tly mi$take$ to collectors (using Kennedy No FG halves):
https://tinyurl.com/y7rksxu8
How much squash would a sasquatch squash if a sasquatch would squash squash?
https://tinyurl.com/y7rksxu8
How much squash would a sasquatch squash if a sasquatch would squash squash?
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