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Æ Didrachm
| Issuer | Brettii |
|---|---|
| Year | 208 BC - 203 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Obverse description | Bearded head of Ares facing left, wearing a crested Corinthian helmet with elongated cheekpieces and flowing neck guard rendered in fine detail. The portrait is executed in a bold, vigorous style characteristic of Bruttian coinage of the late third century BC. Below the neck truncation, a secondary symbol — either a scabbard or a cornucopiae — appears depending on the die variety, serving as a control mark. The flan is broad and irregular, typical of the hammered bronze coinage of the Brettii. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Brettii — a Samnite-related people of Bruttium in the toe of Italy — sided with Hannibal after his crushing victories at Trebia and Lake Trasimene, and this bronze issue belongs precisely to that window of Carthaginian alliance. Their coinage flourished during the Second Punic War largely because Roman authority had collapsed across much of southern Italy, giving the Brettii both the need and the freedom to mint independently. By 203 BC, with Hannibal's withdrawal to Africa, that window slammed shut. The Brettii were stripped of half their territory by Rome and reduced to a servile status so thorough that they were barred from military service.