This massive bronze issue belongs to the immediate aftermath of the Second Punic War, struck as Carthage struggled to reconstitute civic administration under the punishing terms of the 201 BC peace with Rome. The denomination itself — fifteen shekels — reflects a Semitic weight standard that Carthage maintained throughout its coinage history, stubbornly independent of the Greek and Roman systems surrounding it.
At roughly 94 grams, these are among the heaviest bronze coins produced in the western Mediterranean, and surviving examples in collectible condition are genuinely scarce — the alloy is prone to deep corrosion in North African soil contexts.
This massive bronze issue belongs to the immediate aftermath of the Second Punic War, struck as Carthage struggled to reconstitute civic administration under the punishing terms of the 201 BC peace with Rome. The denomination itself — fifteen shekels — reflects a Semitic weight standard that Carthage maintained throughout its coinage history, stubbornly independent of the Greek and Roman systems surrounding it.
At roughly 94 grams, these are among the heaviest bronze coins produced in the western Mediterranean, and surviving examples in collectible condition are genuinely scarce — the alloy is prone to deep corrosion in North African soil contexts.