Obol

Rubi — modern Ruvo di Puglia in northern Apulia — issued coins during a period when the region was caught between Oscan-speaking populations, Greek coastal cities, and the expanding ambitions of Rome and the Samnites. This tiny obol belongs to a civic coinage that effectively ceased once Roman consolidation of Apulia following the Pyrrhic War rendered local silver issues redundant. The city's independent minting history is short and poorly documented, which explains why even minor denominations appear across major reference collections.