Onkia

Eryx was a Phoenician and then Elymian stronghold on the extreme northwest tip of Sicily, passing through Carthaginian and finally Roman hands across the fourth and third centuries BC — precisely the span this coin covers. The city changed allegiance repeatedly during the First Punic War, which Rome eventually won in 241 BC. Bronze small denominations like the onkia were the workhorse currency of local markets throughout this turbulent period, struck in quantity to serve populations whose political masters changed generation to generation.