Silver 1 As Male head series II: facing right, with value

Populonia, on the Etruscan coast of modern Tuscany, was unusual among ancient Italian mints in striking directly from locally smelted iron-industry wealth rather than through trade-acquired bullion. The As denomination in silver — itself an anomaly, since bronze was the standard As metal across most of Italy — reflects Populonia's deliberate monetary independence from the Roman-influenced aes grave tradition developing to its south. By the time the city fell under Roman control in the early third century BC, its coinage had already been in decline for generations.