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Silver 10 Asses Artumes series: wheel
| Issuer | Populonia |
|---|---|
| Year | 301 BC - 206 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Round (irregular) |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A boldly rendered eight-spoked wheel with a raised concentric hub at the centre, the spokes radiating evenly to a plain rim, filling the entire flan. The design is deeply incuse in its background and executed in high relief, with the wheel motif serving as the distinctive reverse type of this Populonian series. The flan is irregular and slightly convex, consistent with hammered Etruscan coinage of this period. No legend or additional ornament appears in the field. |
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| Mint | Populonia |
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| Additional information |
Populonia, on the Etruscan coast of northern Tuscany, was the only Etruscan city known to have struck its own coinage directly from locally smelted metal — iron ore from Elba was processed just across the water, and the silver likely came through trade networks running up the Tyrrhenian coast. The city's mint operated under increasing pressure from Roman expansion, and the broad date range of this series reflects a long, gradual monetary withdrawal rather than a single decisive break.
The wheel as a recurring type on Populonian issues has no settled explanation — cultic, civic, and purely decorative interpretations all remain in play among specialists.