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Tetradrachm Uncertain Punic mint
| Issuer | Uncertain Punic mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 300 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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| Obverse description | Beardless head of Melqart-Herakles facing right, clad in the Nemean lion skin headdress with the scalp drawn over the crown and the gaping jaws framing the face. The hair is rendered in thick, stylized curls beneath the pelt, and the facial features display a robust, idealized Hellenistic portrait style closely emulating Alexandrine coinage. The flan is slightly irregular, with the design well-centered within a plain field. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Prancing horse's head and neck facing left, rendered with fine naturalistic detail including a flowing mane and arched neck with collar folds. To the right in the field stands a tall, slender date palm tree with fronds radiating from the crown, a hallmark Punic civic symbol. In the lower exergual area, a Punic inscription is visible. The composition is characteristic of Siculo-Punic coinage of the late fourth to early third century BC. |
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| Additional information |
Punic silver tetradrachms of this period were struck primarily to pay Carthaginian mercenary forces operating in Sicily, where prolonged conflict with Syracuse created a sustained and urgent demand for coined silver. The Carthaginians had no strong tradition of coinage before the late fifth century — they adopted it as a military tool, not a civic one.
Attribution to a specific mint remains genuinely contested. Candidates include a Sicilian field mint, Carthage itself, and Sardinia, with die studies yet to resolve the question definitively.