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Hemiobol - Bull Palm
| 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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| Obverse description | Bare head of Apollo facing right, rendered in archaic Greek style within a plain circular border. The portrait displays characteristic stylized hair treatment, with beaded or dotted detailing visible along the neck area. The effigy occupies the central field of the flan, which is irregular in outline as typical of hammered bronze coinage of this period. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Massalia — the Greek colony at modern Marseille — was under increasing pressure from Ligurian tribes throughout the second century BC, eventually appealing to Rome for military assistance. That intervention, culminating in the Gallic campaigns of 125–121 BC and the establishment of Gallia Transalpina, fundamentally altered the city's political relationships. This small bronze issue falls squarely within that turbulent window, minted by a Greek polis in the process of trading autonomy for survival.
The MHM typology for Massalian bronzes remains the specialist reference, with the 47/2 designation placing this among the better-documented subdivisions of the hemiobol series.