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1 Quadrans Wheel / Amphora
| Issuer | Uncertain Etruscan mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 240 BC - 225 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 36.22 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Within a raised circular border, a wheel motif rendered as a four-spoked cross with pronounced globular terminals at the end of each spoke, characteristic of Etruscan aes grave coinage. The design is boldly cast in high relief against a flat, unadorned field. The composition is strictly geometric, reflecting the archaic artistic conventions of central Italian bronze coinage of the third century BC. No legend or inscription is present. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Within a raised circular border, a plump amphora depicted in high relief at center, its rounded body, narrow neck, and two upswept handles rendered in a schematic yet recognizable manner. Four pellets are symmetrically arranged in the field around the vessel, serving as value marks denoting the quadrans denomination (three pellets being the standard, though four appear here as a variant). The casting is robust and typical of Etruscan aes grave production. No legend or inscription is present. |
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| Additional information |
Etruscan bronze coinage of this period occupied an awkward transitional moment — Roman monetary influence was pressing southward and the older Etruscan minting traditions were collapsing under it. The mint responsible for this issue remains unattributed with certainty; the scholarly debate has circled inconclusively around several northern Etruscan centers for decades, with no die-link evidence yet sufficient to settle the question.
The quadrans denomination within the Etruscan aes grave system marks this as a fractional piece in a weight standard already being abandoned by the time these were struck.