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Tetradrachm Punic military mint
| Issuer | Uncertain Punic mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 320 BC - 310 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Litra |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A powerfully rendered lion strides to the left in the exergual field, its head turned to face the viewer frontally, conveying strength and authority in a characteristic Punic artistic convention. Behind the lion rises a tall date palm tree, a prominent Phoenician and Carthaginian symbol, depicted with a full canopy of fronds and hanging clusters of fruit. In the lower exergue, a Punic inscription in Neo-Punic script reads, translating as 'People of the camp,' referencing the military mint context of the issue. The overall composition is bold and well-centred within an irregular flan, with a beaded or dotted border partially visible around the circumference. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
These tetradrachms are associated with the Punic military coinage struck to pay mercenary forces during Carthage's intensive campaigns in Sicily — a theater of near-constant warfare against Syracuse throughout the late fourth century. The mint itself remains unlocalized; whether it operated in North Africa or in Sicily closer to the armies it served is a question the numismatic record has not settled. Kraay and Hirmer's attribution acknowledges the uncertainty without resolving it.
The Attic weight standard adopted here was a deliberate choice, making the coins directly commensurable with the Greek mercenary pay already circulating on Sicily.