Catalog
1/2 As Cantharus series
| Issuer | Uncertain city of Central Italy |
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| Year | 301 BC - 201 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Bust of Menrva (Etruscan equivalent of Minerva) facing left, wearing a crested Corinthian helmet with the cheekpieces raised. The hair falls in wavy locks beneath the helmet rim, rendered in the archaic Central Italian style characteristic of heavy cast bronze coinage. The portrait fills much of the flan, with the helmet crest extending toward the upper field. |
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| Reverse description | A cantharus (two-handled drinking cup) depicted in full face view, with a wide flaring rim, elongated body, and a pronounced spreading foot, occupying the central field. The letter S (sigma mark of value denoting the semis, equivalent to one-half an as) appears to the right of the vessel. The design is boldly modeled in the round, consistent with the aes grave casting tradition of Central Italy. |
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| Additional information |
The heavy cast bronzes of central Italy from this period exist in a numismatic grey zone — their issuing authorities remain unresolved, and the cantharus series is no exception. Attribution debates have shuffled these pieces between Umbrian, Etruscan, and Latin candidates for over a century without consensus. At 145 grams, this falls within the expected range for an aes grave half-as on the heavy Oscan-influenced standard, before Rome's progressive reduction of the libral system rendered such weights obsolete by the late third century.