⅜ Stater

Carthaginian electrum coinage of this period was minted under the pressure of the Second Punic War, with Hannibal's Italian campaign demanding enormous financial resources to pay mercenary troops — Iberian, Gallic, and Numidian soldiers who required hard currency rather than promises. These fractional electrum pieces likely circulated in North Africa and Spain rather than reaching the Italian theater, where bronze and silver dominated military pay.

The electrum itself was not a controlled alloy; analysis of surviving specimens shows variable gold-to-silver ratios, suggesting opportunistic use of available metal rather than a standardized monetary policy from Carthage's mints.