to place a mark of value on its coinage, following a practice already established by the mid-5th century at Syracuse and other Sicilian mints for silver uncial fractions of the litra, and at Akragas, the silver 5-litrae denominated ΠΕΝ for pentalitron and I for litra. The first Metus series has been dated to the second half of the 5th century by recent excavations at Prestino, via Isonzo, a chronology confirmed by the subsequent find of a rare 5-unit piece of the same series in the excavation of the early 4th century Etruscan sanctuary at Golasecca, from the phase III A 2 stratum. The weight standard employed seems to be the Corinthian stater (or Attic didrachm) with a theoretical weight of about 8.6 grams, subdivided into 10, 5 and 2 units that seem to be on the Sicilian silver litrae standard of 0.86 grams. An issue of staters on the 'Corinthian' standard attested at Cumae, Etruria's nearest Greek neighbour, dated to about 470-455 BC, may have provided the metrological model for this issue, which was denominated with Etruscan numeral X (=10); associated fractions are, V (= 5) and II< (=2). The second Metus silver series of Populonia, massive by Etruscan standards, with the mark of value 20, 10 and 5 units, is on the same metrological standard as the Hercle and Menvra 20-units, male and female head 10, and male head 5, 2 and 1 unit and by metrological association, are related to the Metus, lion head, male and female headed 50 to 10 unit gold issues. Find evidence from the Ponte Gini di Orentino excavation suggests a dating for this whole phase in the first half of the 3rd century and may be connected with the First Punic War. The metrology of this phase, with marks of value exactly double those of the first Metus issue, may correspond to the elusive 'Italian school' introduction of the denarius proposed by Pliny to 269 BC, as it is exactly on the same standard and anticipates the Roman denarius and multiple-as systems introduced during the Second Punic War in about 212/211. An issue depicting a hippocamp with marks of value CC and C, tentatively attributed to Lucca, is on the same weight standard as the Populonia's second Metus series (20, 10 and 5 units), but the 10 units is expressed by two numerals of five (CC). Last, but by no means least, is