Tetrobol 'light drachm' A

Massalia — modern Marseille — was the most commercially active Greek colony in the western Mediterranean, and its silver coinage circulated far beyond the city's immediate territory. These lighter fractional pieces, sometimes called "light drachms" by modern catalogers, proliferated during a period when Massalia was navigating increasing Roman influence in southern Gaul while still maintaining independent monetary production. The city would retain that independence until 49 BC, when Caesar besieged and subdued it for backing Pompey.

The weight reduction from the standard drachm reflects deliberate monetary policy responding to regional trade pressures, not debasement.