Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
2 Asses Archaic wheel / Archaic wheel
| Issuer | Uncertain Etruscan mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 240 BC - 225 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | 85 mm |
| 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 | Archaic spoked wheel design occupying the central field, rendered in a bold, schematic style characteristic of early Etruscan aes grave coinage. The wheel features a clearly defined circular rim with multiple radiating spokes converging at a central hub, all enclosed within a plain incuse border. The design is executed in low relief with broad, flat surfaces typical of cast aes grave production. The value mark II (denoting 2 asses) appears within the field. The overall composition is geometric and archaic in character, reflecting the pre-Roman monetary traditions of Etruria. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| 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.