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1/2 As Dolphin series
| Issuer | Volaterrae |
|---|---|
| Year | 230 BC - 220 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/2 As = 1 Semis |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Janiform double head of the Etruscan deity Culsan, facing both left and right, each face wearing a petasos (broad-brimmed traveler's hat). The heads are rendered in a bold, archaic Etruscan style characteristic of the Dolphin series coinage. The flan is irregular and the surfaces show the typical roughness associated with cast Etruscan bronze issues of this period. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A dolphin depicted in profile, rendered in the stylized Etruscan manner characteristic of the Volaterran Dolphin series. The denomination mark appears above the dolphin in the field, indicating the semis value. The bilingual ethnic legend in Etruscan and Greek characters surrounds the central device, attesting to the Hellenizing cultural influences on Etruscan coinage of this period. |
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| Additional information |
Volaterrae — modern Volterra — was one of the most powerful Etruscan city-states, and its bronze coinage belongs to a brief window when several northern Etruscan centers produced heavy cast aes grave alongside Roman issues but entirely outside Roman monetary authority. The dolphin series takes its name from the marine motif used as a value mark, a convention borrowed from coastal Italic traditions despite Volaterrae sitting well inland in the hills of Tuscany.
At roughly 63g, this half-as represents the upper end of surviving Volaterran bronzes by weight — attrition through casting defects and post-casting trimming means most examples fall lighter.