Tetras

Obverse description	Bare head of a male figure, likely Apollo or a local hero, facing left, rendered in archaic Greek style with naturalistically depicted hair and facial features. The portrait occupies the central field of the flan, which shows characteristic irregular hammered fabric typical of early South Italian bronze coinage. The surface displays an attractive olive-green patina with areas of reddish-brown cuprite. No legend is present on this face. The style reflects the artistic conventions of the Krotoniate mint during the late fifth to early fourth century BC.
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Reverse script	Ancient Greek
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Additional information	Kroton's bronze coinage emerged late relative to its silver issues, and the tetras — worth three onkiai — occupied the lowest practical denomination in daily Italiote exchange. This particular issue dates to a period of severe pressure on the city: Kroton spent much of the late fifth and early fourth centuries contending with Dionysios I of Syracuse, whose campaigns across Magna Graecia disrupted trade networks and forced many poleis into economic contraction. That bronze small change was struck at all during this interval suggests the city retained enough civic infrastructure to maintain a functioning mint.