TuckHard

A couple of months back I finally sat down with my copy of Early Japanese Coins and worked through about twenty or thirty simple Japanese Kanei Tsuho 1 mon coins that I have had for a few years but never really messed with. The calligraphy bears subtle but unmistakable differences between types and they are really quite fun to differentiate and attribute once you get a hang of it (made easier with good books). These two examples have pretty different Tsu characters (right character at 3 o'clock). The shape of each line and angles of the shapes and body parts of the characters are all different. Japan 1636-1640 ADShiba-sen (Shiba Mint, near Tokyo)AE 1 Mon | 3.25 grams | 24mm wideObv: Kanei TsuhoRev: BlankRef: Hartill EJC#4.12, see it on Zeno, Z#293124 Japan 1726-1732 AD Jumantsubo-sen, Fukyu-te variety (Jumantsubo Mint, near Tokyo)AE 1 Mon | 2.71 grams | 24mm wideObv: Kanei TsuhoRev: BlankRef: Hartill EJC#4.126, see it on Zeno, Z#293147 Next: Another coin variety/type differentiated by style or calligraphy, small differences, etc

Srivijaya period of Sumatra, present-day Indonesia Circa 900 ADTin barter boat ingots | 13.2 to 30.2 grams | 42 to 80mm long This type of tin barter series were discovered amongst the fallen cargo of the Intan Shipwreck, proving an earlier age than previously thought: sometime in the 900s AD Ex: Scott Semans Next: more unusual shaped money, 'proto-monies'

I got this Arabic (?) coin a couple years ago and have never been able to ID it. I also misplaced it somewhere, apparently deep, in my collection so I haven't been able to weigh/measure it until it does reappear someday but it was pretty sizeable, maybe 25-30mm and 4 or more grams. I imagine it is something from a princely state or perhaps civic coinage from Afghanistan/Persia region but I'm really just not sure here. I've tried just about every reference, Zeno category, Numista search, etc. that I can think of and still haven't even a good idea on issuer/century for this thing. It's neat though! Next: same theme, unattributed and unknown

6 hours Golden Horde Issued under Toqtamish of the Blue Horde Division during his brief reuniting of the Golden Horde 785 AH (1383-1384 AD)AR Dang | 1.41 grams | 17mm wide Qrim Mint, present-day Stary-Krym, Crimea See this coin on Zeno, Z#246427 Next: another coin, once unidentified, then solved, and now appreciated

These silver sandalwood coins were first minted in Java around the year 800 AD and were issued by successive dynasties and kingdoms ruling the central and east portion of the island until around 1300 AD when the great Majapahit Empire of Java discontinued the native silver coins in favor of imported Chinese cash. These Javanese silver sandalwood coins, apart from the earliest varieties, are impossible to pinpoint to any specific kingdom, let alone century. Buddhist / Hindu Kingdoms of East Java (Indonesia) Circa 900-1300 ADAR atak | 1.2 grams Obv: Sandalwood flower motif (doublestruck) Rev: Nagari script Ma character Next: another island coin

This old Burmese silver coin has a conch shell (Sankh) on the right side of the reverse, although this example leaves some to be desired. Pyu city-state of Sriksetra, Myanmar/Burma Circa 600-700 ADAR full unit | 9.87 grams | 30mm wide Obv: Bhadrapitha with five lamps above in a beaded border Rev: Srivatsa center with sun and moon above, nine dots within, to the left a vajra, to the right a conch See this coin on Zeno, Z#293471 Next: another coin with no script

6 hours Le Dynasty of Dai Viet (Vietnam) Issued under Emperor Lê Thánh Tông 1470-1497 ADAE Cash | 3.65 grams | 24mm wide Obv: Hong Duc Thong Bao Rev: Blank Ex. Scott Semans Ref: Burger #36.1, see this coin on Zeno, Z#294802 Next: another 15th century coin

Here's an interesting Xi Ning Yuan Bao that I was looking at closer today. It has pretty unique Xi and Ning characters, but it's a perfect match to Gorny's NS#24a.22 in his book Northern Song Dynasty Cash Variety Guide 2016. Northern Song Dynasty of China 1068-1077 AD AE cash | 2.67 grams | 22.5mm wide Obv: Xi Ning Yuan Bao in Seal script Rev: Blank Ref: Hartill#16.174var, NS#24a.22, see this coin on Zeno, Z#296205

Here's an East European king who issued official blundered Arabic coinage: Bela III from Hungary. Kingdom of HungaryIssued under Bela III1172-1196 ADAE imitation | 1.34 grams | 22.5mm wideOfficially issued imitation coin copying Arabic designsSee it on Zeno.ru, Z#278858

Sultanate of Rum Issued during the Three Brothers period 650 AH (1252-1253 AD)AR Dirham | 2.76 grams | 23mm wide Siwas (Sivas) Mint See this coin on Zeno, Z#293157 Next: another coin related to drinking (or music)

Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt Issued under Ptolemy VI1180-145 BCAE Chalkon | 8.22 grams | 22mm wide | 3mm thickObv: Zeus rightRev: Two eagles standing leftRef: Svoronos #1426 Next: a budget coin

6 hours Kingdom of Hungary Issued under Bela III1172-1196 ADAE imitation | 1.34 grams | 22.5mm wideOfficially issued imitation coin copying Arabic designsSee it on Zeno.ru, Z#278858 Next: more imitative coinage

This is my only Sicily coin, from Katane. Sicily, KataneAE Chalkous | 4.42 grams | 18mm wideObv: Busts of Serapis and IsisRev: KATANAION, Apollo standing left with column to the right, holding a branch and bow

Oh that looks perfectly spot on! This example especially seems to be a match, thank you very much! I guess that would revert it back to @Valentinian's Ephesos request, or at least that is open in addition to the "unsure" attribution (more like incorrect!).

Maybe the saddest Ephesos. I'm still not 100% sure of the ID but I'm confident it is Ephesos with that bee. Greek city of Ephesos, Ionia Circa 400-300 BC AE13 | 1.83 grams | 13mm wide Obv: Turreted female head left (?) Rev: Bee center, E-Φ Ref: BMC 68 Next: another 'unsure' attribution, but an attribution nonetheless

This is what I believe to be the smallest standardized coin of the ancient world. These are tiny (5mm wide) bracteate, aka paper thin, silver coins struck to a standardized weight of only 0.03 grams. issued around the Gulf of Martaban, present-day Myanmar/Burma, by Mon city-states. Can anyone show me a lower weight coin with a standardized weight? I have a group of 10 of these coins, together they are only 0.29 grams! Mon city-states of the Gulf of Martaban, Myanmar/Burma Circa 600-850 AD Silver bracteate | 0.03 grams | 5mm wide Obv: Flower with four round petals, a center dimple, and light stem Rev: Repousse effect of the front Next: coin that is a record holder, or otherwise interesting and notable

6 hours Habbari Dynasty of Sindh (Amirs of Sindh), present-day PakistanIssued under the ruler 'AliCirca 973-987 ADAR Damma | 0.52 grams | 10mm wideORef: See it on Zeno, Z#256657 Next: more small coins, 10mm or smaller

Chinese cash have been slowly gaining my appreciation for several years now.. their pricetags definitely help them sparkle! I recently received a copy of Norman Gorny's book Northern Song Dynasty Cash Variety Guide 2016 (Amazon link) which has really let me appreciate the incredible intentional depth of Northern Song calligraphy. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking to look into deeper calligraphy varieties than Hartill and others provide while having it still be very accessible and explained as Gorny does here. Northern Song Dynasty of ChinaIssued during the ninth and final era of Emperor Renzong1056-1063 ADAE Cash | 2.98 grams | 24mmCalligraphy note: see the four outward pointed angles on the inner border corners on the obverse, referred to by Gorny as 'Four Springs'Obv: Jia You Tong Bao, Four Springs on inner border cornersRev: BlankRef: NS#21a.03, H#16.152var, Z#295407 Northern Song Dynasty of ChinaIssued during the first of two eras of Emperor Shenzong1068-1077 ADAE Cash | 3.41 grams | 24mmFancy calligraphy note: see the four outward pointed angles on the inner border corners on the obverse, referred to by Gorny as 'Four Springs'Obv: Xi Ning Yuan Bao, Four Springs on inner border cornersRev: BlankRef: NS#24b.32, H#16.191var, Z#295406

Is it okay if they took the wrong turn but ended up the same way? Roman EmpireIssued after the death of Claudius II (270 AD) during the reign of AurelianCirca 270-275 ADAE Antoninianus | 2.59 grams | 17mmObv: DIVO CLAVDIO, Radiate bust rightRev: CONSECRATIO, Eagle facing left, head turned back right Next: more Divus coinage

All of the right details in all of the right spots to make a perfect attribution, with very little extra Roman EmpireIssued under Valentinian I Siscia Mint 367-375 ADAE3 | 1.68 gramsObv: Emperor's bust rightRev: Emperor dragging captive, Q to left, K over P right, BSISCV belowRef: RIC IX 14a type xxvii(a) Next: another barely IDable coin

Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt Issued under Ptolemy VI 180-145 BC AE Chalkon | 8.22g | 22mm wide | 3mm thick Ref: Svoronos #1426 Next: Your first ancient coin of any region (this was my first Egypt!)

Wow, what a collection! These are some really marvelous pieces, I don't think I've seen an identical example of any of these three types. Having a nice set of Robinson plate coins must be so neat, too! The middle ploughing oxen and farmhand is a really interesting and unique design. I wonder why that, of all things, was chosen! It seems quite a bit unlike any other Pegu tin/lead coin that I have seen. The blundered European text of the third one is also super interesting, I wonder if a proto-type for this might be found? Here is another interesting show of European influence on Burmese lead coins- the Burmese lead cross coins. They seem to be pretty rare and under-studied. I found these in the article Analysis of historical Burmese opium weights and lead coins – metal origin, alloys and surface coating by Robert Lehmann, Hartmut Mollat, Ingo Horn, Ekkehard Döhring, and Carla Vogt (see for free in full on Academia.edu). I have yet to see anymore surface from any sources. I uploaded the three examples and the relevant details to Zeno.ru (see Z#268864), but there are not all too many details known about them. The authors point towards a likely influence in the Portuguese tin coins issued in their colonial city of Malacca, taken violently from the Malacca Sultanate in 1511 AD. See the Portuguese Malacca coinage Zeno category for comparison. Spanish silver coins are also a possible influence, of course. One of the many mysteries of the region's coinages.

Pyu city-state of Sriksetra, Myanmar/BurmaCirca 600-700 ADAR full unit | 9.87 grams | 30mm wideObv: Bhadrapitha with five lamps above in a beaded borderRev: Srivatsa center with sun and moon above, nine dots within, to the left a vajra, to the right a conchRef: Mahlo #14a.1 Next: Same theme, no inscription on at least one side

Wicks' works are definitely amongst the best, albeit outdated in some aspects, especially involving Sumatra/Srivijaya discoveries in recent years, but there truly is nothing current out there for that. Also glad to hear that someone is working on a new work for the tin/lead coins of the region! I'm excited to see what all may come out of there; hopefully many of the unread inscriptions may finally be understood. Many of the inscriptions of the Tenasserim are unread to my knowledge, and they seem to be a good quantity of different inscriptions as well! If I recall correctly, Robinson does try to decipher some of these coins but I am not sure to what degree it is accurate or comprehensive. Below is a map of the Tenasserim (Tanintharyi) region of present-day Myanmar/Burma, in the upper Malay Peninsula. To my knowledge the tin coins of Tenasserim are anonymous, I'm not sure if a mint site is even known. Here is an example of a Tenasserim coin from SARC bearing a Burmese legend in three lines. Someday hopefully I will be able to buy and share my own example here! See on acsearch.info, from Stephen Album Rare Coins Auction 35, Lot 1865 in 2019. This is a Robinson plate coin and sold for $280. TENASSERIM-PEGU: Anonymous, 17th-18th century, cast large tin coin (38.55g), Robinson-Plate 10.2/10.4, 62mm, severely stylized image of the "dragon on sea" resembling a floral design, with the waves portrayed as dots (22 dots in 3 rows) // 3-line Burmese legend, fantastic product, with just one tiny natural casting flaw, bold AU, RR. Although this is a relatively available Tenasserim large coin, it comes in a bewildering variation of the quantity and arrangement of the dots representing the ocean waves.

I totally agree with you, the field is completely intimidating to anyone who isn't already familiar. There is so much variety and odd monies. I would suggest Mitchiner's 1998 book The History and Coinage of South East Asia Until the Fifteenth Century to anyone who enjoys comprehensive catalogs. It's hard to find and is missing quite a bit of more current information, particularly of the island kingdoms, but it still stands as the best overall source for the ancient period of the region. A good runner up would be Wicks' book Money, Markets, and Trade in Early Southeast Asia for anyone looking for a good historical source, not a catalog, that pulls almost every historical and ancient mention, archaeological finds, etc. of coin use in ancient Southeast Asia. Your An-Phap trade coin is really nice, I don't have that inscription type yet. That red patina with the almost-blue highlights is a good look for it. I see a star (dot) at 10:30 between Thien and Bao; that's neat! I didn't see that feature on any of the nineteen examples of this type on Zeno. What is the standard reference for these trade cash? I'm not very familiar with Annam/Vietnam cash yet. A common tin pitis but a lovely one, as well. I have a soft spot for these Palembang pitis; it's what drew me into all of the region's history and coinage in the first place. This is a really nice example of Mahlo's #48.2 type. He covers this in his Middle-period Pyu coins (Upper and Central Burma) section (pg. 101-108). I will include some of what he writes about this type (No. 48) below. He mostly avoids attributing directly to Halin (Hailin) but writes they are generally found as chance finds from many villages, Halin included, around the region of Mandalay. Halin seems to be an easy, obvious choice to attribute but it may be more nuanced. This coin series seems to lack any good finds from a context which would allow for a more concrete conclusion. "There are barely any known find sites for No. 47. Nos. 47 and 48 were found together simultaneously, and seem to belong to a neighbouring or even the same region. No. 48 is found especially in a wide area around present-day Mandalay. We have no information as to where the coin authorities for these specimens resided and what induced them to break with the tradition of their area, which was defined by Halin coins, and to adopt the (probably outdated) coin design of a city-state around 500 km away. It is not known whether the cities were part of an alliance or in some kind of vassal relationship. Even if we consider that the find site for these coins were linked with Sri Ksetra by means of the Irrawaddy, optically — and thus politically — the two coin types exhibit a conspicuous, demonstrative contradiction to the area’s previously customary coin types. [. . .] Chance finds [of No. 48] are reported from: Halin, Shwebo, Tagaung, Myittha, Maingmaw, Myingyan, Wadi, Amarapura, Maymyo, and the village of Kyat Su Kyin near Yesagyo. [. . .] Nos. 47 and 48 could, perhaps, be seen as belonging to the fifth or sixth century. However, a solitary discovery whose composition is not precisely documented cannot be regarded as sufficient evidence, which makes this tentative dating very uncertain". - from Mahlo's book mentioned above. As far as I know, there hasn't really been any improvements in the academic sense about these coins since Robinson's book The Lead and Tin Coins of Pegu and Tenasserim. I checked that out from the ANA Library but can't seem to find my notes/photos from it as it wasn't a prime focus for me at the time, hopefully I have those files somewhere though. There has been a ton of coins (or are these tokens?) from Pegu and Tenasserim that sold via SARC in recent years, many plate coins from Robinson. Hopefully someone involved or interested can put together something more current with everything new. I'm really not too current or up to date with these either, so I'd love to be corrected and guided to anything more helpful! As a related note about your Pegu lead coin, I also have one (a different, smaller type) which has puzzled me about its age. I think these are generally believed to be 1600s AD or later, but the seller of my coin told me that this example was reportedly discovered at the Kanbawzathadi Palace in Pegu (Bago) which burned down in 1599 AD. The seller was at least involved with those academically involved and he told me they trusted the sourced. I can't really verify that, of course, but is worth noting. Anonymous Issuer of Pegu (Bago) of Myanmar (Burma)c. late 1500s-1600s ADLead coin | 4.44 grams | 22mm wide | 1-2mm thickObv: Peacock standing right within border of at least 35 dotsObv: Mostly blank, traces of an off-centered border design with diamond shapesReported from the Kanbawzathadi Palace in Pegu (Bago)Ex. SAKAI Toshiaki of Yamagata, Japan (Jan. 2021), Pairuch Yama-aram of Thailand (Feb. 2006)