Tetrobol 'light drachm'

Massalia — the Greek colony at modern Marseille — minted these reduced-weight fractions continuously for centuries, but the issues falling in this late second-to-early first century window coincide with Rome's violent subjugation of the surrounding Gallic tribes and the establishment of Gallia Transalpina as a province after 122 BC. Roman military operations created enormous demand for small silver in the region, and Massalian fractions circulated well beyond the city's immediate hinterland as a result. The colony retained nominal autonomy and continued striking its own coinage long after neighboring mints had been absorbed or suppressed.