AS117769. Cast bronze Aes Formatum, Haeberlin pl. 3, 1 - 12; fragment broken from a larger ingot, traces of circulation, but one edge of the original ingot clear, 169.3g, convex obverse; reverse flat reverse

 

In Italy, as with other nations, early trade used a system of barter. Aes rude (Latin: 'rough bronze'), used perhaps as early as the early 8th century B.C., was the earliest metal proto-currency in central Italy. In the 5th century B.C., bronze replaced cattle as the primary measure of value in trade. Called aes formatum by Haeberlin, this very rare bronze currency was later than the aes rude and a precursor to the issues of aes grave. Presumably, the molten bronze alloy was poured into a shallow hole in the dirt. This left a disc-shaped metal mound with a flat reverse. This specimen is a fragment broken from a disk for a smaller transaction or to make change. A scale was necessary to measure value for commercial transactions.