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Hemiobol
| Issuer | Poseidonia |
|---|---|
| Year | 445 BC - 420 BC |
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| Currency | Phocaean/Campanian Drachm |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Nude male figure of Poseidon striding vigorously to the right, depicted in the dynamic Severe Style characteristic of mid-fifth century BC South Italian coinage. The god raises his left arm aloft, brandishing a trident, his weight shifted forward in a martial stance. The partial inscription ΠOΣE appears in the field, identifying the issuing city of Poseidonia. Despite the diminutive flan, the die-cutter has rendered the muscular anatomy of the deity with considerable skill. The field is otherwise plain, with the figure filling the available space on the irregular hammered planchet. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Poseidonia — the Greek colonial city on the Tyrrhenian coast of Lucania known to the Romans as Paestum — issued fractions like this hemiobol to facilitate small-scale commerce in a region where trade with indigenous Italic peoples demanded a full range of denominations. At roughly a quarter-obol's worth of silver, these pieces were among the smallest practical units the mint produced, and surviving examples are correspondingly scarce; the attrition rate for coins this light in ancient circulation was brutal.