Stater

These gold staters were struck in Sicily, almost certainly at a mint operating in Carthage's Sicilian territory rather than in North Africa itself — the precise location remains debated, with Lilybaeum and a mobile military mint both proposed. Their production falls squarely within the period of Carthage's sustained military campaigns against the Greek cities of Sicily, wars that demanded hard coinage for mercenary pay. Carthaginian commanders relied heavily on hired troops from Iberia, Campania, and Libya, and gold staters were the currency of that contract.