These heavy cast bronzes belong to the earliest phase of central Italian aes grave production, when multiple Etruscan centers were striking independently and attribution remains contested among specialists. The precise issuing authority behind this wheel type has never been settled — ICC#180 clusters several related pieces under "uncertain Etruscan" precisely because die links and findspot evidence have not yet produced a clean answer.
At over 72 grams for a half-as, this piece reflects the original uncial standard before successive reductions brought Etruscan bronze coinage into alignment with Roman weight norms during the Second Punic War period.
These heavy cast bronzes belong to the earliest phase of central Italian aes grave production, when multiple Etruscan centers were striking independently and attribution remains contested among specialists. The precise issuing authority behind this wheel type has never been settled — ICC#180 clusters several related pieces under "uncertain Etruscan" precisely because die links and findspot evidence have not yet produced a clean answer.
At over 72 grams for a half-as, this piece reflects the original uncial standard before successive reductions brought Etruscan bronze coinage into alignment with Roman weight norms during the Second Punic War period.