1 Æ Shekel

These bronzes were struck in the chaotic interval following Carthage's defeat in the First Punic War, when Carthaginian mercenaries — unpaid and furious — launched the Truceless War against their former employers. Sardinia's Punic mints continued operating under increasingly unstable conditions, and when the mercenary garrison on the island mutinied and expelled the Carthaginian administration outright, Rome seized the opportunity. By 238 BC, Rome simply annexed Sardinia, citing the unrest as justification — a move Carthage regarded as a treaty violation and never forgot.