Catalog
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| Issuer | Volaterrae |
|---|---|
| Year | 230 BC - 220 BC |
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| Currency | As (circa 230-220 BC) |
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| Obverse description | Janiform double head of Culsan, the Etruscan deity associated with transitions and doorways, depicted wearing a broad-brimmed petasos hat. The two facing busts are rendered in low relief in a schematic Etruscan artistic style, with both profiles visible simultaneously on opposing sides of the flan. The casting is irregular, consistent with the heavy Aes grave tradition of central Italic coinage of the late 3rd century BC. |
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| Reverse lettering | FELA-ODI I (Translation: Volaterrae 1) |
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| Additional information |
Volaterrae — modern Volterra — was among the most powerful Etruscan cities still operating an independent mint in the late 3rd century BC, and its heavy cast aes grave output belongs to a monetary tradition already becoming obsolete as Rome's influence over central Italy tightened. These pieces were cast, not struck, using clay moulds in a technology inherited from earlier Etruscan and Italic practice rather than the Greek hammered coinage filtering in from the south.
At over 150 grams, this represents the as at or near its pre-reform libral standard — before Roman pressure and monetary pragmatism drove the unit into a decades-long decline toward token weights.