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1/2 Unit Lixus
| Issuer | Mauretania |
|---|---|
| Year | 50 BC - 1 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 5.86 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A large eight-pointed star with a central pellet occupies the centre of the field, flanked on the left by a pendant bunch of grapes and on the right by an upright grain ear, both rendered in a schematic Punic style. These three symbols — star, grape cluster, and grain ear — are emblematic of the Phoenician city of Lixus and reflect its agricultural and religious identity. The flat, unadorned field bears no legend or exergual inscription. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
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| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Lixus, situated on the Atlantic coast of modern Morocco at the mouth of the Loukkos River, was among the oldest Phoenician foundations in the far west — ancient sources credited it with a sanctuary to Melqart predating even Gadir. The city struck its own bronze coinage under Mauretanian oversight during the late first century BC, a period when the kingdom was being carefully positioned by Rome as a client state following the collapse of Jugurthine and then Caesarian-era instabilities across North Africa.
The half-unit fraction suggests a functioning local market economy sophisticated enough to require small-denomination exchange.