1 Hemiobol Beast series

Obverse description	Facing Gorgoneion (Medusa head) depicted in archaic style, rendered frontally within a plain circular border. The visage displays characteristic apotropaic features: large staring eyes, a broad flat nose, and a wide open mouth with protruding tongue. The head is framed by coiling serpentine locks radiating symmetrically around the face, rendered in low relief with fine engraved detail. The design fills the entire flan, consistent with the compact module of this early Populonian silver denomination.
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Mintage	ND (501 BC - 450 BC) - Only 4 examples known
Additional information	Populonia stands as one of the few Etruscan cities known to have struck its own coinage, and its earliest silver issues — including this fractional piece — were almost certainly produced to facilitate trade through its harbor rather than for inland use. The Etruscan hinterland economy ran largely on weighed bronze; small silver fractions like this hemiobol belonged to a maritime commercial register, likely exchanged with Greek traders active along the Tyrrhenian coast. The series references in HN Italy and Sambon place this among the earliest Populonian issues, predating the city's later and better-documented bronze coinage by a considerable margin.