Tetradrachm

These tetradrachms were struck at a Sicilian mint operating under Carthaginian control during a period of near-constant warfare with the Greek city-states of Sicily. The coins were almost certainly produced to pay mercenary troops — Carthage relied heavily on hired soldiers drawn from Libya, Iberia, Campania, and elsewhere, and coinage was the mechanism that held that polyglot military together. Without a pressing payroll need, Carthage had little tradition of striking silver coinage at all.

Jenkins' classification of this series remains the foundational reference, though attribution of individual dies continues to shift as new specimens surface from Sicilian hoards.