★ Very Rare ! ★

KINGS OF LYDIA. Alyattes, circa 610-560 BC. 1/96 Stater (Electrum). Lion's paw with five toes, one with a claw. Rev. Irregular square punch. GRPCL G45. Karwiese Type 3, 27. Very rare, one of the smallest coins ever issued. Toned. Minor marks, otherwise, good very fine.
This coin is a perfect example of how a good idea, in this case, the provision of very low value coins for payment purposes, proves highly impractical. This coin was intended for small purchases - since it was made of electrum it did have a real worth - but it was so tiny as to be massively difficult to use. And, of course, it would be very easy to lose. In Athens, and probably everywhere else, few people had purses to store small change, and so they tended to keep such coins in their mouths(!). In fact, Aristophanes made a joke about that: he had one of his characters walking around rather aimlessly when, suddenly, someone came up behind him, slapped him on the back, and, caused him to swallow his obols! This was, apparently, a real laugh riot in late 5th century BC Athens.

Weight:0,5 gr
Diameter:6 mm