Catalog
Silver 5 Asses Hippocamp and Cerberus
| Issuer | Luca |
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| Year | 325 BC - 275 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 5.36 g |
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| Obverse description | A hippocamp depicted in right profile, rendered with a horse forepart transitioning into a coiled fish tail, occupying the central field. The creature is shown in a dynamic, sinuous posture typical of Etruscan-influenced Italic coinage of this period. One or more dolphins are depicted in the surrounding field, emphasizing the marine theme. The numeral V, denoting the denomination of 5 asses, appears in the field before the hippocamp. The overall style is archaic and robust, characteristic of early central Italian silver coinage. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Luca — ancient Lucca in northwestern Etruria — produced this didrachm-weight issue during a period when the region was absorbing intensifying Roman pressure following the Latin War. The pairing of a sea-horse with the three-headed guardian of the underworld on a single coin is iconographically unusual even by Etruscan standards, where Greek mythological borrowing was common but rarely this eclectic in combination. Sambon catalogued it among the rarest of the Etruscan silver series, and Vecchi's later classification confirmed its status as a distinct local type rather than a derivative of any coastal Campanian issue.