Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1 Quadrans Wheel / Anchor
| Issuer | Uncertain Etruscan mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 240 BC - 225 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Quadrans = 1/4 As |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | A five-spoked wheel rendered in low relief occupies the central field, with a crescent symbol positioned between two of the spokes. The design is contained within a shallow incuse circle, characteristic of early Etruscan cast and hammered bronze coinage. The spokes radiate symmetrically from a central hub, and the overall composition reflects the archaic artistic conventions of pre-Roman central Italy. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | An anchor is depicted in profile at the center of the field, rendered in the bold, simplified style typical of Etruscan aes grave and related bronze issues. Three pellets arranged in a horizontal row appear below the anchor shank, serving as the value mark denoting the quadrans denomination (one-quarter of the as). The design is set within a shallow incuse border, with the anchor's crossbar and ring clearly articulated despite the irregular flan. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The wheel-and-anchor series belongs to a cluster of heavy aes grave issues produced by Etruscan mints in the period when Rome's monetary system was still consolidating its grip on central Italy. The issuing city remains unassigned with confidence — attributions have shifted between Arretium, Volaterrae, and other northern Etruscan centers across successive scholarship, and the catalogs reflect that ongoing disagreement.
At this weight, the piece conforms to the uncial reduction already underway by the mid-third century, driven partly by the financial strain of the First Punic War on bronze supplies throughout the peninsula.