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1½ Shekels / Tridrachm
| Issuer | Carthage |
|---|---|
| Year | 270 BC - 264 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Facing left, the wreathed head of Tanit — the principal goddess of Carthage — rendered in fine Hellenistic style, with elaborately curled hair bound by a grain wreath and flowing in ringlets behind. The facial features are delicately modelled with a serene, idealised expression typical of the best Carthaginian die-cutters of the period. A single row of beads or a dotted border frames the design near the coin's edge. The neck truncation is plain, and the field is otherwise uninscribed. The portrait closely follows the iconographic tradition derived from Syracusan prototypes while retaining a distinctly Punic aesthetic. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
This denomination falls squarely within the period when Carthage was funding mercenary armies against Syracuse and the western Greek cities of Sicily — a grinding, expensive conflict that likely drove the mint to produce gold at this unusual fractional weight rather than full shekels. The 1½-shekel unit is peculiar to Carthaginian military finance and almost certainly was not struck for civilian commerce.
The Sicilian mint attribution, supported by the majority of the reference corpus cited, distinguishes these from Carthaginian homeland issues and points to field pay rather than treasury coinage.