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Silver 5 Asses Hippocamp facing right, value below
| Issuer | Luca |
|---|---|
| Year | 301 BC - 275 BC |
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| Value | 5 Asses |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | A hippocamp rendered in archaic Italic style strides vigorously to the right, its equine forequarters transitioning into a coiled serpentine tail. A dolphin is depicted above the creature, and a star appears in the upper field. The Oscan numeral mark for five (C) is inscribed below, denoting the denomination. The design is executed in bold, somewhat crude relief characteristic of early South Italian coinage. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | C (Translation: 5) |
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| Additional information |
Luca — modern Lucca in northern Tuscany — was a Latin colony established in 180 BC, but this issue predates that foundation entirely, belonging instead to a poorly documented pre-colonial phase when the settlement functioned as a Roman ally during the wars against the Gauls and Ligurians. The precise issuing authority remains debated; some scholars attribute these pieces to a local Etruscan or Ligurian population rather than a Roman-affiliated civic body.
The five-asses denomination places this among the heavier silver fractions of the period, struck before Rome's mid-third-century monetary reforms began pulling allied coinage into tighter systemic conformity.