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Silver 5 Asses Turms series III: facing right, blank
| Issuer | Populonia |
|---|---|
| Year | 301 BC - 206 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | Vecchi-III#32, HN Italy#161, EC 1#84, SambonArt#93, SNG ANS 1#30 |
| Obverse description | Facing right bust of Turms (the Etruscan equivalent of Hermes/Mercury), depicted wearing a winged petasos helmet with detailed wing ornamentation. The head is rendered in fine archaic-to-classical Etruscan style, with carefully incised facial features and hair visible beneath the brim of the petasos. The numeral 'V', denoting the denomination of 5 Asses, appears in the field behind the head. The die engraving exhibits the characteristic bold, high-relief style associated with Populonian coinage of the period. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | V (Translation: 5) |
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| Additional information |
Populonia was the only Etruscan city-state known to have operated its own mint striking coinage in its own name, a distinction that sets its issues apart from the broader Etruscan world where most cities relied on imported or imitative currency. This fractional silver belongs to the period when Populonia's control of the iron-rich Elba deposits still underwrote its economic independence, though Roman military pressure was steadily contracting Etruscan autonomy throughout the third century.
The blank reverse on this denomination is not damage or an error — it is original to the type, a minting convention specific to certain Populonian fractional issues catalogued under Vecchi's Series III.