Let's see some SMALL coins!

spoon

I've always been a haphazard collector, but if there's a category of coins that I can say I like, it's the small stuff. Most of it is still so cheap that it's largely ignored. It just isn't sexy, I guess. But you can find a lot of the same intricate designs on kreuzers as on thalers for a fraction of the price. And the further you go back, you can get some historically significant stuff in a small package.

So, lets see some small coins - say, under 20mm or so. Silver, copper, gold.. whatever you have.


I've been talking about this one lately, the namesake of the "heller" denomination used in many German states, Austria and Czechia. This is a Haller pfennig - or penny from Hall, Schwabisch Hall, that is. So "haller" for short became "heller". The hand represents the hand of God. This is a later type from the 1400s, but these were originally made in the 1200s.

16mm



This is a half kreuzer from the same place 300 years later, still using the hand and cross city arms.

14mm



OK, those probably aren't the most exciting things to kick off the thread, I'll post more shortly. Let's see what you guys have!

SaorAlba

Ionia, Ephesus - AE 12 ca. 300 BC:



Ionia, Miletos AR 6 ca 500 BC:



Quite frankly a lot of the earliest coins were tiny - they had to be - they often were carried in their owner's mouths since pockets etc didn't exist.

Khersonesos - Chersonesos - AR 11 ca. 480-350BC:

WillieBoyd2

Here's a 12mm coin from a long time ago:

Rome, Arcadius (AD 395-408)



Arcadius Bronze AE4 - Victory
Pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust
D N ARCADIVS P F AVG
Victory advancing left, head turned right, holding trophy over right shoulder and
dragging a captive behind her
SALVS REI-PVBLICAE, CHI-RHO in left field - Exergue: CONSG
Catalog: RIC 86(c) - Struck: Constantinople AD 388-392
Size: 12.3mm
Weight: 1.176gm

Arcadius was the eldest son of Theodosius I and his first wife,
and brother of the western emperor Honorius.
His reign was dominated by ministers and his wife.

bronzemat

"World Smallest Coin"

India Gold Fanam
9mm, 0.4gms

IloiloKano

America’s smallest denomination ever minted & worth 1/4 of a cent, the US-Philippines 1/2 Centavo was minted for circulation for only two years, 1903 & 1904. Both were minted at the Philadelphia mint.

2.59 g, Bronze, 18 mm


2 coin PCGS Registry Set for this denomination

SaorAlba

<< <i>America’s smallest denomination ever minted & worth 1/4 of a cent, the US-Philippines 1/2 Centavo was minted for circulation for only two years, 1903 & 1904. Both were minted at the Philadelphia mint.

2 coin PCGS Registry Set for this denomination >>



Didn't the government there revalue/devalue the peso at some point early on in the US administration?

IloiloKano

From 1903 through the Commonwealth era in 1936 and up to the establishment of the republic in 1946, valuation was officially set at 2 pesos to 1 dollar.

I believe the event you are thinking of was the surge in silver prices in 1906, which lead to the pesos and silver minor coinage being melted for silver content.

Though valuation had been officially set by law as 2 pesos equal one dollar, Morgan dollar blanks were used to manufacture the pesos, and blanks for Barber halves and dimes were used for the 50 & 10 centavos. (Presumably, blanks of the same size as obsolete U.S. 20 cent pieces were used for minting 20 centavos coinage.)

When silver prices rose in 1906, the 1906 pesos were recalled back to the United States to be melted in order to mint new coinage in 1907, which accounts for the 1906 Peso being exceedingly rare. 1907 coinage was reduced in size, with finess for the peso reduced to .800, and finess for the minor coinage reduced to .750. The harder alloy has made finding well struck examples a challenge.

spoon

Cool stuff!

Are those Arcadius bronzes the smallest Roman types? I honestly don't know, but I've had a few and can't recall seeing smaller.
Those Chersonesos lions are super cool too, pretty affordable too

Here's another German, a Nuremberg city view kreuzer:

15mm



And another tiny city view from Mewar in India (1/8 rupee, 1928):

14mm

Weiss

Very cool thread. I don't intentionally collect small coins. But as SaorAlba said: some early series were just made small.

My icon:

Lydia pre-Croesus 610-565 BC Trite
Electrum, 4.74 grams
Weidauer series XVI, 86-89




And my most recent quasi-greyside purchase (shown with a coinstar find from last night for scale):

Tomthecoinguy

<< <i>"World Smallest Coin"

India Gold Fanam
9mm, 0.4gms

>>




That's really cool, I just bought a very similar coin today and was coming to the forum to get some help identifying it when I saw this thread. It seems mine is likely also an Indian Fanam. What do you think does this look like an authentic one or a reproduction? Mine is 8mm and 0.3 g. If anyone knows anything more about how to date or find out where in India it was minted, let me know.



>>



>>

stainless

Here's one:







Mn. Cordius Rufus, 46 B.C.
AR Denarius, 18mm
Owl on Cresent helm.
Incuse of obverse
Brockage error

stainless

mrpotatoheadd

BillyKingsley

Spain had some really small pesetas (in aluminum, my favorite coin metal) from the late 80s to the beginning of the Euro era. I have a handfull but have not gotten them scanned yet. I am pretty sure they are my smallest coins.

spoon

Hey Tom, welcome to the forum! That definitely looks like a fannam, but I'm afraid they all look the same to me! I'm sure someone else might be able to help (you might want to start a fresh thread asking for the ID - just to attract the attention of the experts - certainly nothing wrong with posting in this thread too )


Here's a neat one who's ID I'm not entirely sure of.. I'm fairly certain it's an Ottoman akce, 1500s perhaps? It's such a mess I really can't tell. But I like it! At least double struck, waaay off center, with a brockage to boot

11mm

SYRACUSIAN

Tomthecoinguy, it looks authentic to me. I've had a few fanams in my time, some of which from Lordmarcovan. At the time they were very cheap, I don't know what they're worth now. But you'll have to ask someone else for the Princely State it comes from.

Weiss, that electrum coin is probably even smaller than the fanam!

I don't know how the Pan Pac gold $1 qualifies as semi greyside, but I've been in love with it for 10 years and yet I keep postponing its purchase. Nice example!

Here's my contributions, both 16 mm.

1jester

Whenever this topic comes up, I always think of the 1/32 ducat from Nurnberg, minted 1700.

Another one is pictured here.

Less than 5 mm in diameter and 0.1 grams of gold.

SYRACUSIAN

Is that the Jester challenge? Man, you had more free time in your hands back then.

Nice ducat fraction. The Swiss have some pretty nice ones too.

Both Ionians are 16mm too, and so is the Cretan 1 lepton.

RobP

Celtic Epaticcus boar's head minim ca 20-50AD. Silver, 8mm dia.

FilamCoins

U.S. $1 Gold Piece 13mm

spoon

Well, I think Jester wins! That's awesome!

Great stuff as always, D!
And, Rob, that's a very cool one, great detail!

Here's another popular type, don't have a positive ID for date/ruler, but it's a Russian wire money kopek.
I think it's Mikhail Feodorovich (at least that's what the cyrillic on lines 3 & 4 look like), which would place this between 1613-1645.

13mm

determined

Balakros as satrap under Alexander the Great
AR sixteenth Persian stater
Athena / Boeotian shield decorated with thunderbolt
0.62 gram
11.1 mm
Tarsos, circa 333-320 BC





Lysimachus
AR 1/5 Tetradrachm
2.40g
13mm
Head of Apollo / Youth on horse
Amphipolis, circa 320-315 BC

Pokermandude

AR wire Kopek. 1689-1725, Peter the Great.