Tetradrachm

The Siculo-Punic tetradrachms were struck to pay mercenary armies — almost certainly Campanian and Iberian troops — employed by Carthage during its brutal western Sicilian campaigns that began with the sack of Selinus in 409 BC and the destruction of Himera shortly after. The mint itself remains unattributed with confidence; candidates include Panormus, Motya, and a mobile military mint moving with the Carthaginian forces. Jenkins' classification of the P2 group places this among the earliest issues of the series.

The dies were almost certainly cut by Syracusan-trained engravers, which explains the stylistic proximity to contemporary Syracusan coinage — a deliberate choice to ensure acceptability among Greek mercenaries accustomed to that currency.