The Tiniest Coins
We like big coins, and we cannot lie…but these mini coins would also make a pretty sweet collection.
It’s tough to find one single, all-encompassing, overarching theme to coin collecting, especially when a hefty group of collectors is gathered. Some are adamant about Morgan and Peace dollars. Others like some of the modern gold and silver bullion pieces. Still, others have a passion for the United States' large cents. But in the midst of all this discussion and possible disagreement, there is one general idea that many people can get behind and to which we can rally: we like big coins. There are a lot of reasons for this, and no, we will not go into them here. Rather, we’ll go beyond the mainstream by going in the other direction. Let’s get serious for a moment about collecting that which is tiny. Let’s sample just what sort of collections a person might wish to assemble in this area.
The Panama Pill
When it comes to focusing on world coins, quite a few collectors have heard that the tiny 2 1/2 centesimos coin from Panama, affectionately known as the Panama pill, is the smallest ever made. That kind of title or honor is always one that is up for examination, as we can consider the weight of the coin or can consider the diameter as the main point. The pill weighs in at 1.25 grams of 90 percent silver and is 10mm across, which certainly makes it tiny, be it a record holder or not. Since it was initially a silver piece when first issued back in 1904, it might actually be fun putting a collection together, although all the later pieces at that denomination are alloys such as copper-nickel.
Silver 3-Cent Pieces
When it comes to the United States circulating coins, the silver 3-cent pieces, issued from 1851 to 1873, undoubtedly qualify as something to be placed in the ‘tiny zone.’ These oft-overlooked little silver discs are the design work of Mint Engraver James Longacre and weigh in at only 0.80 grams for the first few years, 75 percent of which is the silver in the alloy. Then it became 0.75 grams after 1853, but of 90 percent silver. Both versions have a diameter of 14mm. If silver trades at $25 per ounce, we can do some math, remembering that 31.103 grams is in a troy ounce, and get to $0.48 worth of silver in the first version and $0.54 worth of silver in the second.
Not many of us collect full-date runs of silver 3-cent piece series – the proof-only of 1873 makes this truly difficult – but those who do are aware that they always cost far more than the value of the precious metal in them.
Gold Dollars
Another member in any ‘tiny club’ that we are forming is the United States gold dollar. Issued with three different designs between 1849 and 1889, these little guys weigh in at 1.672 grams, are 13mm across, and have 0.04837 ounces of the yellow metal in each. When gold trades at $2,000 per ounce, as it has done in the recent past, the value of each is $96.74. Once again, the amount we’ll actually have to pay for any of them is far, far higher. It’s not just that these are classic United States gold that brings on the sticker shock; it’s that several of the dates in the series have tiny mintages themselves. This is especially true for those produced at the short-lived branch Mints in Dahlonega, Ga., and Charlotte, N.C.
Canadian Silver 5-Cent Pieces
Our northern neighbor issued an interesting candidate when it comes to tiny coins. The 5-cent pieces were issued intermittently from 1858 through the early part of the twentieth century, as 92.5 percent silver, weighing in at only 1.162 grams. This is a tad lighter than the Panama pill. At 0.0346 ounces of silver, it, too, doesn’t have much in it by way of precious metal. Its diameter, though, is far bigger than the pill. Still, since the collector base for classic Canadian coins is smaller than that for U.S. series, these can be affordable to the patient collector.
The Older German 1-Pfennig
Plenty of nations issue a small copper piece that is one one-hundredth of their unit coin, but the now-defunct West German 1-pfennig pieces, a hundredth of the West German mark, seem to be an entry in this category that is especially small. Hundreds of millions of these little guys were churned out from the beginning of the series in 1948 up through the end, when euros were introduced, making them extremely common even today.
Of the tiny pieces we have looked at thus far, this is the only one that is so cheap it can routinely be plucked out of dealers’ bargain bins. It might be a fun pastime to see just how complete a set we can assemble, doing nothing more than fishing them from bargain bins and keeping the cost at something like 25 cents per coin.
The Smallest Gold Coin Ever!
Okay, this final entry into the ‘tiny club’ is probably as much a publicity stunt as it is anything else. In late 2022, it was reported that the Croatian Mint produced a mere 199 pieces of the smallest gold coin ever. It is a 1-kuna gold piece, weighs in at 0.05 grams (or 0.0016 of an ounce!), and has a diameter of 1.99 millimeters. It’s so tiny that a person needs tweezers to hang onto it. Oh, and the gold in it, when gold is at the just-mentioned $2K per ounce, is valued at $3.22. It’s a fair bet that this will not be what we have to pay for one, assuming we can ever find one for sale.
So, What’s The Smallest?
It looks like the Croatian 1-kuna has knocked the Panama pill off its tiny pedestal, and it appears this newcomer to some title like ‘smallest of the small’ will probably not be dethroned any time soon. Collecting any type of coin for no reason other than that it is very small is probably far beyond the mainstream for most of us. But it could definitely prove to be a lot of fun.
