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Stater
| Issuer | Carthage |
|---|---|
| Year | 290 BC - 280 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 | 7.77 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Draped bust of the goddess Tanit facing left, her hair wreathed with grain ears in the Sicilian artistic tradition, adorned with a beaded necklace and distinctive triple-pendant earrings. The portraiture reflects strong Hellenistic influence, with finely rendered facial features and elaborately styled hair. The field is plain, with no legend or exergual inscription, consistent with Punic coinage of this period. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A horse standing in profile to the right, rendered in a naturalistic Hellenistic style with a flowing mane and tail; the animal is depicted at rest with all four hooves grounded on a baseline. Beneath the horse, four pellets are arranged as control marks in the lower field. The reverse field is otherwise blank, with no legend or exergual inscription, and a beaded border is visible at the upper periphery. |
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| Additional information |
Carthaginian electrum staters of this period were struck primarily to pay mercenary forces — Libyan, Iberian, Campanian, and Gallic troops who demanded coin rather than credit. The alloy composition, running well below the gold content of earlier issues, reflects the fiscal strain of sustained military campaigns in Sicily, where Carthage and the Greek cities had fought intermittently for over a century. The electrum itself was almost certainly sourced through trade networks across North Africa and Iberia rather than any single controlled deposit.