Head, Barclay V.: Historia numorum: a manual of Greek numismatics (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1887)

76

BRUTTIUM.

(ii) The rich and varied issues of these same towns, together with the
exquisite productions of the Pandosian and Terinaean mints, extending
through the finest period of Greek art down to the time of the invasion
of the Lucanians, and the wanton destruction inflicted upon the cities of
Magna Graecia by the Tyrant of Syracuse, circ. b.c. 388. Of all the
silver coining states Croton alone survived the general ruin of that
calamitous time.
(iii) The Locrian mint next rises into importance about the middle of
the fourth century B.C., and, with Croton, provides a sufficient supply
of silver money for all Bruttium until the time of the Pyrrhic war,
while for the commerce with Sicily the Corinthian stater was adopted as
the most convenient medium of exchange. These coins were issued in
large numbers at Locri, and scantily at the then dependent towns of
Rhegium, Terina, and Mesma or Medina.
(iv) After b.c. 272 the Bruttians, on their submission to Rome, seem to
have been allowed to monopolize the right of minting gold and silver,
the very rare silver coins of Rhegium which belong to this period being,
as their weight shows, only intended for the Sicilian trade. All the
towns were, however, permitted to strike bronze money down to the close
of the Second Punic War, b.c. 203.
(v) From this time onwards the bronze coinage of Petelia and Vibo
Valentia, on the Roman semuncial system, with marks of value, and
that of Rhegium on the standard of the Sicilian litra, was all that
was left to replace the beautiful issues of past ages, until in b.c. 89
the Lex Plautia Papiria put an end to all coinage in Italy except that
of Rome.
The following is a chronological conspectus of the coinage of Bruttium
from the earliest times to the latest:—

550-480
480-388
388-356
356-332
332-300
300-272
272-203
203-89
Croton
Croton
Croton
Croton
Croton
Caulonia
Caulonia
Locri*
Locri*
Locri
Locri
Pandosia
•
Consentia
Bruttii (?)
Bruttii
Temesa
Terina
Terina
Terina*
Terina
Medina*
Nuceria
Hipponium
Hipponium
Hipponium
HipponiumlV)
Valentia
Petelia
Petelia
Rhegium
Rhegi um
Rhegium*
Rhegium
Rhegium
Rhegium
Rhegium

Note*—When the names are in Italics the coinage is wholly of bronze. An asterisk denotes
that Corinthian staters were also issued in addition to the local currency.
Bruttii. This people, the original inhabitants of the peninsula which
afterwards bore their name, made themselves independent of the Luca-