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2 Asses Archaic wheel / Archaic wheel
| Issuer | Uncertain Etruscan mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 240 BC - 225 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 2 Asses = 1 Dupondius |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Archaic spoked wheel design mirroring the obverse type, with a prominent circular rim and radiating spokes meeting at a central hub, enclosed within a plain border. The relief is characteristically low and the surfaces broad, consistent with the cast production technique employed at uncertain Etruscan mints of the mid-third century BC. The value mark II (denoting 2 asses) is present in the field. The rendering is geometric and archaic, with slight irregularities inherent to the casting process. The reverse closely parallels the obverse in design, a common feature of this aes grave series. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | II (Translation: 2) |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Etruscan aes grave production remains poorly understood in terms of specific mint attribution — the issuing authority here is genuinely uncertain, and scholars have debated whether pieces of this type originated from a single center or multiple workshops operating within a loose regional tradition. What is clear is that by the mid-third century BC, bronze casting of this weight class was already anachronistic; Rome had largely abandoned comparable heavy cast coinage, and Etruscan cities issuing such pieces were operating against the grain of a Mediterranean world moving toward struck silver.
At over 280 grams, this is functional metal by mass rather than convenience — transactional in the way a bullion weight is transactional.