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1/2 Stater
| Issuer | Carthage |
|---|---|
| Year | 290 BC - 280 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Electrum (43-47% gold) |
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| Obverse description | Wreathed and veiled head of Tanit facing left, rendered in fine Hellenistic style with elegantly styled hair swept back in loose waves beneath a grain wreath. The facial features are delicate and idealised, with almond-shaped eyes, a straight nose, and slightly parted lips. The hair is bound with a cord and falls in a series of layered tresses behind the neck. The field is plain and unlettered, the portrait occupying nearly the full flan in high relief characteristic of Carthaginian coinage of this period. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (290 BC - 280 BC) |
| Additional information |
Carthage's electrum coinage of this period was minted almost certainly in Sicily, likely at the mint of Lilybaeum, to fund the grinding mercenary wars the city fought against Syracuse and the native Sicilian populations. The alloy itself — a deliberately managed blend rather than natural electrum — reflects Carthaginian monetary pragmatism: gold supplies from West Africa were inconsistently available, and stretching reserves with silver was an administrative decision, not a metallurgical accident.
Müller's classification of this type placed it among issues he associated with the First Sicilian period, a attribution that remains broadly accepted though the precise mint chronology is still debated.