Populonia, the Etruscan coastal city-state near modern Piombino, was among the few ancient mints to strike gold coinage for Rome's allies during the Second Punic War. The urgency of Hannibal's campaigns after Cannae in 216 BC forced extraordinary monetary measures across the Italian peninsula, and Populonia's access to metal from the iron-rich Elban mines gave it unusual capacity to respond. This series is attributed to the period when Rome was drawing on every cooperative ally it could still trust.
Vecchi I, 51 remains one of the rarer entries in the Populonian gold sequence.
Populonia, the Etruscan coastal city-state near modern Piombino, was among the few ancient mints to strike gold coinage for Rome's allies during the Second Punic War. The urgency of Hannibal's campaigns after Cannae in 216 BC forced extraordinary monetary measures across the Italian peninsula, and Populonia's access to metal from the iron-rich Elban mines gave it unusual capacity to respond. This series is attributed to the period when Rome was drawing on every cooperative ally it could still trust.
Vecchi I, 51 remains one of the rarer entries in the Populonian gold sequence.