Hemiobol Bull

Massalia — the Greek colony at modern Marseille — was one of the most prolific bronze-issuing mints in the ancient western Mediterranean, and this hemiobol belongs to a long sequence of small divisional coinage that kept the city's busy port economy running through the 2nd century BC. The period of issue coincides with Rome's growing dominance over southern Gaul, culminating in the creation of Provincia Gallia Narbonensis around 121 BC. Massalia retained its nominal autonomy and minting rights through that transition, an unusual privilege reflecting its longstanding alliance with Rome dating back to the Hannibalic War.

The Blanchet "var" notation suggests a minor die difference from the catalogued type — worth documenting carefully against Blanchet 92 proper.