Interesting older coins (Pre-1920)

What coins do you think are the most interesting, if we look at coins over 100 years old? Here are some I find interesting.

Shapes
Square coins, some often also known as "Klippe" coins are usually small.
Examples:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces45922.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces146994.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces84988.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces111028.html
Rounded corners: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces12117.html
Round with square hole: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces3312.html
Somehow square: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces68538.html
Rectangle: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces28657.html
Rhombus: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces135715.html

Triangular coins:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces105363.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces43146.html
Triangular hole: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces64804.html
Triangular (irregular): https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces147493.html

Pentagon: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces147135.html

Hexagonal: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces116051.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces114166.html
Hexagonal with a hexagonal hole: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces121260.html

Octagonal: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces70464.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces116271.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces146951.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces24935.html
Octagonal with a hole: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces50591.html

Boat: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces61872.html

Irregular: Round: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces26336.html
Bar: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces118882.html

Size (Weight)
There are some very large coins, much larger than the cartwheel pennies. For example:
51.2g: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces8257.html
65.5g: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces17970.html
84g: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces144293.html
90.2g: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces117515.html
112.4g: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces16673.html
162.35g: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces52506.html
174.7g: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces111746.html
340g Largest gold coin: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces111217.html
400g: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces101972.html
760g: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces106185.html
1037.6g Largest circle-shaped coin: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces101958.html
1636g: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces102939.html
3023g: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces105705.html
15760g: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces145251.html
19700g, Largest old coin: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces145141.html

There are also coins much smaller (in weight) than the panama pill, or for example the

0.3g: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces19212.html
0.18g: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces96744.html
0.17g: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces112412.html
0.11g: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces79659.html
0.06g: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces53301.html
0.04g: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces24114.html
0.03g: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces96597.html

Metals:
Some coins were made from weird metals, such as:
Platinum: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces23166.html
Gold plated platinum (?): https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces123994.html
Also coins from paper, cardboard and rarer metals such as tin have been made.

Oldest ones
Ever heard of knife money or shell money? Some of the oldest coins include
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces123641.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces61870.html
and https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces16441.html

But the oldest coins are from Mesopotamia. https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces71824.html

Thickness
The thickest coin is this Rouble:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces101958.html
The thinnest coin is possibly unknown, as many older coins are extremely thin.

Diameter
The largest coin in diameter is the 10 Daler SM. The smallest is possibly https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces111933.html

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces19212.html

As referee for French notgeld I should point out this coin isn't actually smaller than the Panama pill; it's just very light, since it's made of cardboard. It's 33mm in diameter. It would probably be better off in the interesting materials section.

Απόσπασμα: "CassTaylor"​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces19212.html
​
​As referee for French notgeld I should point out this coin isn't actually smaller than the Panama pill; it's just very light, since it's made of cardboard. It's 33mm in diameter. It would probably be better off in the interesting materials section.

​True. I had to stop editing the post and send it but I still have to add some, for example the katanga cross https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces46820.html and shell money.

Also thick coins, thin coins and the oldest ones.

It's amazing how much detail they could cram onto that kopek that's only 420 microns in diameter. The smallest design features must be only about 10um in width.

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces111933.html
incorrect info, that is the coins weight and not diameter

That means that the smallest coin in diameter is https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces126363.html then

Thats exactly the same again, its the weight not the diameter, someone put it in the wrong field

Απόσπασμα: "Monninen1"​That means that the smallest coin in diameter is https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces126363.html then

​Basically what apuking said.

For the record, 0.83mm is like less than the width of the average person's cuticle (the white part of a fingernail at the base)... not very practical for a coin, is it?

The smallest MIGHT be this, but I can find nothing that confirms it is either real or fake.
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces67603.html

For materials, some weird ones I can list off the top of my head:

Red Fibre:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces22469.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces22470.html

Porcelain:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces27214.html
(+ those Thai porcelain gambling tokens)

Baked Clay:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces13996.html

Bakelite (a synthetic plastic):
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces142290.html
(this one is actually a WWII trial piece)

Απόσπασμα: "CassTaylor"​For materials, some weird ones I can list off the top of my head:
​
​Red Fibre:
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces22469.html
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces22470.html
​
​Porcelain:
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces27214.html
​(+ those Thai porcelain gambling tokens)
​
​Baked Clay:
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces13996.html
​
​Bakelite (a synthetic plastic):
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces142290.html
​(this one is actually a WWII trial piece)
​
​
​

​And https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces17490.html

slightly newer than 1920 but not much, there's the antimony coin
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces42344.html

Απόσπασμα: "sc.rednek"​The smallest MIGHT be this, but I can find nothing that confirms it is either real or fake.
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces67603.html

​yes that might be correct, had some higher denomination Fanams that where around 5mm in diameter.
I was scared to breathe them into my mouth if I was breathing to strongly

I did not want to put it on the list as many say that its not actually a real coin.

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces96597.html would be smaller in weight. Not smaller in diameter tho. God not-bless those people who put the weight in the wrong place.

Still for example the negapatman cash, https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces133775.html (0.8mm???)
Northein 3 pfennig https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces141694.html (1.5mm, this might actually be right unless its actually 15mm)
and the Saxony 3 pfennig https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces140372.html (1.5mm too)
might be smaller, but I doubt as they weight a lot.

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces53972.html MMHMMHMMH

The smallest ones (diameter) that can possibly be confirmed are
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces146682.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces47187.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces147940.html

Απόσπασμα: "apuking"​

Απόσπασμα: "sc.rednek"​The smallest MIGHT be this, but I can find nothing that confirms it is either real or fake.
​​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces67603.html

​​yes that might be correct, had some higher denomination Fanams that where around 5mm in diameter.
​I was scared to breathe them into my mouth if I was breathing to strongly

​I have one of those 1/10 fanam coins, and it measures only 1.90 by 1.93 mm in diameter, with a weight of 0.022 to 0.023 grams. The diameter measurement was made by counting pixels in a photo with the coin sitting on a stage micrometer. (Note -- I used a normal (non-telecentric) microscope objective for the picture, and I don't know if this affects the accuracy.)

I assume these are modern fantasy coins, so different factories may make them with different sizes.

Wow that is tiny.
are you sure yours is not original? I have had quite a few gold Fanam‘s and they seem not to be expensive coins, often could find some for 10€ maybe slightly more.
bigger lots with several are also often found quite cheap.

Απόσπασμα: "Monninen1"​I did not want to put it on the list as many say that its not actually a real coin.
​
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces96597.html would be smaller in weight. Not smaller in diameter tho. God not-bless those people who put the weight in the wrong place.
​
​Still for example the negapatman cash, https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces133775.html (0.8mm???)
​Northein 3 pfennig https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces141694.html (1.5mm, this might actually be right unless its actually 15mm)
​and the Saxony 3 pfennig https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces140372.html (1.5mm too)
​might be smaller, but I doubt as they weight a lot.
​
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces53972.html MMHMMHMMH
​
​The smallest ones (diameter) that can possibly be confirmed are
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces146682.html
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces47187.html
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces147940.html
​
​
​

​The first weight can't possibly be right, it looks like a very thin coin but I ran the numbers and at 16mm diameter it would be 0.014 mm thick, that's thinner than lightweight aluminum foil, the design would be destroyed by simply touching it, much less have it last nearly 900 years

The next 3 look like they put the decimal in the wrong place.

@Monninen

Might want to add those Larins from Ceylon as well.
And if you've got Knife money, Chinese Spade money is also worth some consideration.

For shape, I always found hexagonal coins that circulated in the not-too-distant past to be interesting, given their unorthodox shape, here are two from the Belgian Congo and Egypt respectively:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces7011.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces8677.html

And there's this weirdly scalloped coin from the pre-colonial Maldives:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces117835.html

Απόσπασμα: "apuking"​Wow that is tiny.
​are you sure yours is not original? I have had quite a few gold Fanam‘s

Talking about the 1/10th Fanam. The 1 Fanam coins are definitely a real thing.

My smallest coin is the https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces112412.html ~8x6mm pretty small. I can't wait to compare it with the 4 daler SM.

I think the weight and diameter of this coin need to be switched:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces53972.html

Απόσπασμα: "Cerulean"​I think the weight and diameter of this coin need to be switched:
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces53972.html

​Yep. Imagine a coin with that diameter and weight...It must be half a meter long!