Populonia was the only Etruscan city to strike its own bronze and silver coinage consistently through the late Republican period, operating a mint that functioned with remarkable autonomy while Rome was systematically absorbing the surrounding region. The Menrva series — the Etruscan equivalent of Athena — was produced during the Second Punic War, when Hannibal's campaigns were disrupting Italian economic networks and forcing allied and semi-allied cities to maintain local coin supplies.
The triens, representing four unciae or one-third of the as, carries four pellets as its value mark. This particular series is catalogued as a second emission, distinguished from the earlier Menrva issues by subtle die characteristics documented by Vecchi.
Populonia was the only Etruscan city to strike its own bronze and silver coinage consistently through the late Republican period, operating a mint that functioned with remarkable autonomy while Rome was systematically absorbing the surrounding region. The Menrva series — the Etruscan equivalent of Athena — was produced during the Second Punic War, when Hannibal's campaigns were disrupting Italian economic networks and forcing allied and semi-allied cities to maintain local coin supplies.
The triens, representing four unciae or one-third of the as, carries four pellets as its value mark. This particular series is catalogued as a second emission, distinguished from the earlier Menrva issues by subtle die characteristics documented by Vecchi.