Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Æ Semis
| Issuer | Venusia |
|---|---|
| Year | 210 BC - 200 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Helmeted head of Mars facing right, depicted in high relief with strong, bold facial features characteristic of South Italian bronzework of the Second Punic War period. The helmet is of Corinthian or Attic type adorned with a prominent wing on the left side, rendered with fine feather detail. The neck and lower bust are visible, with the flan showing slight irregularity at the lower edge. No legend appears on the obverse; the field is otherwise plain. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Mint of Venusia |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Venusia — modern Venosa in Basilicata — was a Latin colony planted by Rome in 291 BC in the heart of Samnite territory, and its colonial bronze coinage reflects a period of acute pressure during the Second Punic War. After Hannibal's catastrophic defeat of Roman forces at Cannae in 216 BC, Venusia was one of the few southern Italian communities that held its loyalty to Rome despite Carthaginian forces operating through the region for over a decade. This semis belongs to the final phase of Venusian civic coinage, struck as Rome steadily absorbed colonial monetary autonomy in the early second century.