Aes Formatum Lambskin; pointed toughs

Before Rome developed struck coinage, bronze was exchanged by weight in irregular cast lumps — a practice inherited from central Italian trading customs. These pieces, known collectively as aes rude and its later, more regularized forms, predate the aes grave series and circulated alongside it well into the third century. The pointed or elongated morphology of certain examples is thought to reflect deliberate shaping conventions tied to specific regional markets, though the evidence remains contested among specialists.

The "lambskin" designation in trade nomenclature refers to surface texture, not provenance.