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Currency bar Crescents with eight-pointed star
| Issuer | Tarquinii |
|---|---|
| Year | 280 BC - 260 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Bronze |
| 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 |
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| Obverse description | The field bears two lunate crescents arranged back-to-back in a confronted position, with an eight-pointed star interposed centrally between them. The design is rendered in low relief on the roughly textured surface of the cast bronze bar, characteristic of Etruscan aes signatum production. No legend or border is present. The composition is symmetrical and heraldic in conception, likely carrying celestial symbolism associated with the Etruscan religious tradition of Tarquinii. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse repeats the obverse type in the same disposition: two lunate crescents placed back-to-back with their open ends facing outward, flanking a centrally positioned eight-pointed star in the field. The relief is shallow and the casting surface retains characteristic roughness and porosity consistent with ancient sand or clay mould casting. No inscription or exergual marking is present. The symmetrical repetition of the type on both faces is typical of the aes signatum currency bar series attributed to Etruscan centres. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
Tarquinii's bronze currency bars occupy a transitional moment in central Italian monetary history, when cast bronze by weight was giving way to more standardized aes grave coinage without anyone quite committing to either system. This bar, marked with crescents and an eight-pointed star, belongs to a series that scholars have long debated attributing — the Tarquinian assignment rests primarily on findspot evidence and hoard associations rather than any explicit civic inscription.
At roughly 440 grams, the bar sits close to the theoretical Oscan-influenced weight standard, though individual casting variation in this series is considerable enough that Haeberlin's measurements across known specimens show a wide spread.