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1/2 Shekel
| Issuer | Tarentum |
|---|---|
| Year | 212 BC - 209 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Nude youth riding horse pacing to right, extending his right hand to crown the horse with a wreath; in his left hand he holds an upright palm branch. The figural group is rendered in the Tarentine idiom, with the rider's pose conveying athletic grace characteristic of South Italian Greek coinage of the early second century BC. |
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| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
These fractional pieces were struck during one of the most catastrophic episodes in Tarentum's history. The city had defected to Hannibal in 212 BC after a Carthaginian-backed faction opened the gates, and the subsequent Roman siege — lasting until 209 BC — defines the precise window of this issue. Tarentum's mint continued operating under Hannibal's occupation, and these half-shekels reflect the city's attempt to maintain a functioning civic economy while Roman forces held the citadel above the harbor.
Rome retook the city in 209 BC with exceptional brutality; 30,000 inhabitants were sold into slavery.