About: Greek coinage of Italy and Sicily

Greek coinage of Italy and Sicily originated from local Italiotes and Siceliotes who formed numerous city states. These Hellenistic communities descended from Greek migrants. Southern Italy was so thoroughly hellenized that it was known as the Magna Graecia. Each of the polities struck their own coinage. Taras (or Tarentum) was among the most prominent city states. By the second century BC some of these Greek coinages evolved under Roman rule, and can be classified as the first Roman provincial currencies.