Etruria, uncertain mint Æ 25 Units (Centesimae). Late 4th century BC. Helmeted head of Menvra right, ΛXX at right, all within laurel wreath / Incuse cock standing left within laurel wreath. EC I, 6 (O1/R3?); HN Italy 81. 8.17g, 22mm, 9h.
Very Fine. Very Rare.
From the VCV Collection.
The carefully engraved bronze series characterized by wreath-bordered obverses and incuse reverses clearly belongs to a single mint, but the widely dispersed provenances (Acanaro, Cecina, Cetona, Gravisca, Populonia, Valle d'Orcia, Valle Fuino di Cascia and Vetulonia) are of little help in identifying it. However, bronze cast and struck issues did predominate in central Etruria where 4 of the finds were made. The denominations are tariffed in centesimal marks of value from 1 to 100 Units, with the basic bronze unit on a standard somewhere between 0.6g and 1g. This may have been an attempt to divide a nominal as by centesimae rather than oncie as seen on the double denominated Populonia bronze series 139 with /X (11 Units equated to a triens) and Populonia series EC I, 140 with X (= 10 Units equated to a triens of lower weight) and the > or (5 Units) denominated bronzes from the Val di Chiana - cf. HN Italy 72, 74 and 75.