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1/4 Stater
| Issuer | Carthage |
|---|---|
| Year | 264 BC - 241 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 2.7 g |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A horse standing in profile to the right, depicted in a naturalistic Hellenistic manner with the left foreleg drawn slightly back in a characteristic pose. The musculature is carefully modelled, and a small pellet appears beneath the horse's body in the lower field. The design occupies a broad, unlettered field, consistent with Punic military coinage struck during the First Punic War. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
These fractional electrum pieces were struck to finance Carthage's military operations during the First Punic War — a conflict that lasted 23 years and ultimately cost Carthage its naval dominance in the western Mediterranean. The alloy composition, notably leaner in gold than earlier Carthaginian electrum, reflects deliberate debasement under wartime fiscal pressure rather than any natural variation in source metal.
The war ended with the Treaty of Lutatius in 241 BC, after which Carthage faced the catastrophic Mercenary War when it could not pay its demobilized troops — coins like this one were precisely the wages in arrears that sparked that revolt.