Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1/2 Æ Shekel
| Issuer | Sardinia, Punic |
|---|---|
| Year | 241 BC - 238 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/2 Shekel |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Three upright barley or grain ears arranged side by side, their detailed awns rendered in high relief, rising from long curved stalks that sweep across the lower field. A pellet-within-crescent symbol appears above the central grain ear, serving as a Punic religious emblem. The composition is enclosed within a partial border, and the bold, naturalistic rendering of the grain reflects the agricultural significance of Sardinia to the Carthaginian economy. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | ND (241 BC - 238 BC) |
| Additional information |
This issue falls within one of the most compressed and catastrophic windows in Carthaginian history. Following the conclusion of the First Punic War in 241 BC, Carthage defaulted on mercenary pay, triggering the Mercenary War — a brutal internal conflict that consumed Carthaginian resources and attention for over three years. Sardinia, garrisoned by unpaid Libyan and mercenary troops who promptly revolted, briefly fell into open rebellion before Carthage could reassert even nominal control.
Roman opportunism ended that control entirely by 238 BC, when Rome annexed the island under threat of renewed war, exploiting Carthage's exhaustion.