1 As Sunburst with four rays

Tarquinii, the old Etruscan center on the Tyrrhenian coast, struck aes grave during a period when Rome was rapidly consolidating control over Etruria following the wars of the early third century BC. This heavy cast bronze issue belongs to a regional tradition that was already being squeezed out by Roman monetary dominance — within a generation or two, autonomous Etruscan coinage of this kind had effectively ceased.

The sunburst with four rays serves as the city's identifying mark across the aes grave series, allowing attribution even when pieces are fragmentary or poorly cast, as many are.