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Trihemiobol
| Issuer | Poseidonia |
|---|---|
| Year | 480 BC - 400 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Phocaean/Campanian Drachm |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A deeply struck incuse impression of the obverse type, presenting the mirror image of the standing Poseidon figure in sunken relief, a hallmark of early South Italian coinage employing the incuse technique attributed to the Pythagorean school of die engraving. The corresponding ethnic legend NOM appears in the incuse field, reading in the normal direction as the retrograde complement to the obverse inscription. The surface shows the characteristic flat, concave quality produced by the single-punch hammering method. |
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| Mint | Poseidonia (Paestum) |
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| Additional information |
Poseidonia — the Greek colony on the Tyrrhenian coast of Lucania — occupied an uneasy position between Etruscan commercial pressure to the north and indigenous Lucanian populations pressing inland. The city's coinage reflects a remarkably stable civic identity across this period, even as neighboring poleis were absorbed or disrupted. The trihemiobol, fractional by nature, was the working currency of daily market exchange, not treasury reserve.
The incuse technique used on early Poseidonian silver ties this mint to the broader South Italian tradition associated with Pythagorean-influenced cities — though the precise ideological connection remains debated among specialists.