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Hemiobol - Bull Bull Skull
| Issuer | Massalia |
|---|---|
| Year | 130 BC - 121 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Hemiobol (1⁄12) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Bare head of Apollo facing left, rendered in the archaic Greek provincial style characteristic of Massalian coinage. The portrait displays schematic hair radiating from the crown, with strands falling along the neck. The facial features are rendered with simplified but expressive die-cutting, consistent with the local workshops of the Massalian mint during the late 2nd century BC. The coin's irregular flan partially obscures the periphery of the design. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A bull butting right, depicted in a dynamic charging posture with lowered head and forelegs thrust forward, occupying the central field. Above the bull, a frontal bull skull is prominently displayed as a secondary device, a distinctive iconographic element of this Massalian series. A partial Greek legend appears below the bull along the lower exergual line, though heavy patination and flan irregularities render full legibility difficult on this specimen. |
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| Additional information |
Massalia — modern Marseille — was a Phocaean Greek foundation that maintained its own coinage traditions long after Rome had absorbed most of Gaul's monetary networks. This small bronze belongs to a period of acute pressure: the Arverni confederation and the Allobroges were pressing hard on Massalian territory, eventually forcing the city to appeal directly to Rome for military assistance in 125 BC. The Roman intervention that followed ended with the creation of Gallia Transalpina, Rome's first provincia north of the Alps.
The hemiobol denomination circulated primarily in and around the city itself, the bronze fractions handling everyday transactions that silver couldn't efficiently reach.