The earliest coins of Poseidonia are thin, incuse style coins. In keeping with similar symbolism, the slighter later coins, of which this is one, show the same strutting, triumphant Poseidon, the namesake of the city-state. The reverse shows a bull, which alludes to a connection with the Lucanians. Poseidonia was founded in the 6th century BC. Today, the three best preserved Greek temples are located on the site of ancient Poseidonia.