Vetulonia, one of the twelve cities of the Etruscan League, issued this bronze coinage during the Second Punic War — the same years Hannibal was wintering in Italy and Rome was scrambling to hold its Italian allies together. The "legend missing" designation refers to the absence of the ethnic inscription found on related issues, a variant documented across the known corpus rather than a matter of wear or damage.
Etruscan civic bronze of this period is genuinely rare in any condition; Vetulonia's output was modest, and the city's subsequent decline under Roman absorption left little reason for later hoarding or collection.
Vetulonia, one of the twelve cities of the Etruscan League, issued this bronze coinage during the Second Punic War — the same years Hannibal was wintering in Italy and Rome was scrambling to hold its Italian allies together. The "legend missing" designation refers to the absence of the ethnic inscription found on related issues, a variant documented across the known corpus rather than a matter of wear or damage.
Etruscan civic bronze of this period is genuinely rare in any condition; Vetulonia's output was modest, and the city's subsequent decline under Roman absorption left little reason for later hoarding or collection.