Silver 2 1/2 Asses Octopus series

Populonia, the only Etruscan city known to have struck its own coinage directly — rather than relying on imported or mercenary-mint issues — produced this denomination during a period when the city's iron-smelting wealth from Elba was at its height. The fractional silver series to which this piece belongs was almost certainly tied to commercial exchange with Greek traders operating along the Tyrrhenian coast, where Populonia's harbor gave it unusual economic reach for an inland-oriented culture.

The octopus series is among the earlier emissions from the mint, preceding the later struck bronzes for which Populonia is also catalogued.