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1/2 Shekel - Hamilcar Barca
| Issuer | Gadir (Punic Iberia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 236 BC - 228 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 3.48 g |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Prow of a warship (galley) depicted facing right, shown in profile with characteristic overlapping oars, a projecting ram at the waterline, and a raised forecastle or deck structure above. The prow motif is a well-established Punic naval symbol, referencing Carthaginian maritime power. The design occupies the central field with no surrounding legend, consistent with Gadir coinage of the Barcid period. The strike is slightly off-center, typical of hand-hammered issues of this series. |
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| Mintage | ND (236 BC - 228 BC) |
| Additional information |
Gadir — modern Cádiz — was among the oldest Phoenician settlements in Iberia, and its mint became the financial engine behind Barcid military operations following Carthage's humiliating loss in the First Punic War. Hamilcar crossed into Iberia in 237 BC with the explicit goal of carving out a territorial and revenue base to rebuild Carthaginian power, and the coins struck here funded that campaign directly. His young son Hannibal reportedly accompanied him on this crossing.
The ACIP 545 attribution places this issue firmly within the earliest phase of Barcid Iberian coinage, before the mint output expanded under Hasdrubal and later Hannibal himself.