1 Hemiobol Beast series

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.