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¾ Shekel
| Issuer | Qart Hadasht |
|---|---|
| Year | 264 BC - 241 BC |
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| Composition | Silver |
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| Obverse description | Bust of the goddess Tanit facing left, rendered in fine Hellenistic style. The deity is depicted with elegant, idealized facial features, her elaborately coiffed hair swept back in layered, striated waves secured by a wreath. A single pendant earring adorns her ear, and a draped garment is visible at the base of the neck. The portrait occupies the full field of the flan, with no legend or exergual inscription. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Qart Hadasht — the Punic name for Carthage itself — struck these fractional silver pieces to pay mercenary troops during the First Punic War, a conflict that would eventually drain the city's treasury so completely it triggered the catastrophic Mercenary War of 241–238 BC. The soldiers who carried coins like this one were often the same men who would later revolt when Carthage couldn't pay them.
MAA 42 bis is a recognized variant within the series, distinguished from the primary type by subtle die differences documented by Jenkins and Lewis.