The bronze coinage of ancient Carthage is rather boring. During 250 years, from c. 400 to 146 BC, it's always the same types : on obverse the head of a goddess (likely Tanit), on reverse a horse. There are only minor variations : the goddess may be wearing a necklace or not, have corn-ears in her hair or not; the horse may be standing, jumping, galloping, looking backwards, or it's just a horse's head. Sometimes some symbols are added : a palm-tree for example, a caduceus, an egyptian-style uraeus... Never any legend, just sometimes single punic letters. This conservatism is typical of the period. After all, Athens always represented a head of Athena and an owl on all her coins for several centuries. On Carthaginian coins, the palm-tree is a kind of legend : in Greek the word "phoinix" means "palm-tree" but also "Phoenician", "Punic" (in Latin, "Punicus"). The Carthaginians in their language called themselves "Cananaeans", and the rebus on the coins only works in Greek. Here is a mini-collection of Carthage bronze coins : 1 : Carthage, c. 400-350 BC, AE unit (globular flan). AE 16 mm, 4.50 g. 2 : Carthage, c. 400-350 BC, AE unit. AE 16 mm, 2.42 g. 3 : Carthage, c. 300-264 BC, shekel? AE 19 mm, 6.42 g. 4 : Carthage, c. 201-195 BC, 3 shekels. AE 27 mm, 21.05 g. 5 : Carthage or African mint, 2nd half of 2nd c. BC, 3 shekels. AE 26.5 mm, 11.12 g. Number 5 is probably the very last coinage issued by Carthage. Many specimens have been found there by archaeologists in the destruction layers well dated to 146 BC. It was obviously the money circulating in the city during the siege by Scipion Aemilian. Of course, Carthage would be later rebuilt as a Roman colony and there would be many Roman, late Roman, Vandalic, Byzantine coins minted at Carthage. But that's another story.
TRI - TriShekels... Carthage AE 31mm Trishekel 220-215 BCE 2nd Punic War Tanit Horse Palm Pumic th SNG COP 342 Carthage AE Trishekel Tanit Horse 220-215 BCE 2nd Punic War 30mm 19.7g Lot 36 Carthage AE Trishekel Tanit Horse 220-215 BCE 2nd Punic War 30mm 17.6g Lot 35
Carthage in Sardinia Carthage 300-264 BCE AE 19 Sardinia 19mm 5.62g Tanit wreathed Horse hd r ayin SNG COP 151 JP Righetti collection
@Alegandron - very nice style Sardina AE. I like the trishekels too. I couldn't resist getting another Sardinia AE of decent style earlier this year: Punic Sardinia 300-264 BC AE20 5.58 g, 20 mm, 7h O: head Tanit left, wearing grain wreath, triple pendant earring and string necklace R: horse head right CNP 252 CNG e568, lot 25 08/14/2024 In CNP, Viola lists these as 252, while 251 types have Tanit wearing a pendant necklace, instead of a string necklace. Both are listed as being from a Sardinia mint. The denomination is uncertain. In Carthaginian Gold and Electrum Coins, Jenkins thought the first was from Sardinia and the latter from Sicily. (p. 134) Both types are found in Sicily and Sardinia, but the vast majority found in Sardianian hoards are CNP 252 types. Carthage is very unlikely to be the mint since the dies are not aligned. Difficult to be certain where 251 was minted. The 251 type horse head has a "S-shaped" concave/convex neck truncation while 252 is always concave. In general, the 251 type is often of better style, but specimens like yours are the exception. Here is an example of the 251 type: Punic Sicily? 300-264 BC AE20 5.80 g, 20 mm, 6h O: head Tanit left, wearing grain wreath, triple pendant earring and pendant necklace R: horse head right CNP 251 G&M 130,1076 03/08/2004 @GinoLR - nice group of Carthaginian AEs, not boring at all! My response to “Delenda est Carthago” is “Servanda est Carthago” According to Appian, every time Cato finished, Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum, son-in-law of Scipio Africanus and the most influential senator, would reply “Servanda est Carthago” (Carthage must be saved) Appian, Roman History 19.69 Of course, history shows that Cato's statement was correct, so "Carthage must be saved" now would only apply to the archaeologic site, its coins and history.
Thank you! Although I am not a fan of Carthage, I enjoy the History and their coinage. They were traders.
A nice Carthaginian selection @GinoLR - my most notes feature a denarius from the start of the 3rd Punic War - I combine a coin of Carthage, a coin of Masinissa and a Roman coin to illustrate a short summary the 3rd Punic War and the end of Carthage. Full story here: https://www.sullacoins.com/post/the-3rd-punic-war
CARTHAGE - Third Punic War This was the last series that Carthage minted just before they were exterminated by the Romans in 146 BCE. The City was razed. An estimated population of 500,000 were slaughtered, with only 50,000 sold into slavery. Carthage was not resettled until Caesar's veterans almost 100 years later. No coins were minted at that site until even later. This is an odd issue from Carthage, as they did not produce serrated coins until their demise. This one is kinda hard to obtain. Carthage Third Punic War Serrate Double Shekel 149-146 BCE 12.8g 26mm Wreathd Tanit-Horse pellet raised leg SNG COP 404
Wonderful coin @Alegandron! Here's one from New Carthage under Augustus - about 150 years after the destruction of Carthage - that is also not often seen. Roman Provincial Coins, Africa Proconsularis, Carthage, Augustus (27 BC-AD 14). Ae. D V Sp and P I Sp, duovirs. Struck ~AD 10. Obv: IMP(erator) C(aesar) D(ivi) f(ilius) A(ugustus) P(ontifex) M(aximus) P(ater) P(atriae), Bear Head Left Translation: Emperor Caesar, Son of the Divine, Augustus, Chief Priest, Father of the Fatherland Rev: P(ublius) I(—) SP(—) D(ecimus) V(—) SP(—) II VIR(i) C(olonia) I(ulia) C(arthago) P(ecunia) P(ublica) D(ecreto) D(ecurionum) Translation: Publius I— SP— (and) Decimus V— SP—, Duovirs, the Julian Colony of Carthage, Public Money, by Decree of the Decurions Ref: RIC 1 745
LOL, thank you for clarifying as NEW Carthage. I always chuckle when folks proudly post their “Carthage” coins, which are Imperial Roman coins from the SITE of a completely reestablished and rebuilt city that they happened to call Carthage. My thoughts when I think of Carthage, that it was a proud Empire, starting in THEIR city of Carthage, that sprawled over most of the Western Med. I have over 100 of those coins, but only ONE Roman Carthage mint.
@Alegandron - very nice double shekel. These serrated silver double shekels are rare and the shekels are even more rare. Here is a great article by Paolo Visona about these coins: The serrated silver coinage of Carthage The coins are 92-99% silver. There are 8 obverse dies and 67 reverse dies for the double shekel. Such a large volume suggests they may have been struck as part of the indemnity of 10,000 talents paid to Rome with the last payment being 151 BC. However, the coins were definitely used during the third Punic War. Archaeologic finds in Tunisia include: Canis Island 1916 (IGCH 2301) after 146 BC: ~150 AR coins with AR jewelry and fragments - 18-21 dishekels; 132 denarii (to 146 BC) La Goulette 1920 (IGCH 2302) 146 BC: 12 AR dishekels 2 dishekels and 1 shekel found together in 1994 excavation of destruction layer at Carthage Your coin is CNP 62e with a crescent over a pellet between the horse forelegs on the reverse. It looks the most like Visona 117 (O1/R48). Here is the Helbing image: Otto Helbing Nachf. <München> [Editor]; Otto Helbing Nachf. [Editor]: Auktions-Katalog / Otto Helbing Nachf.: Sammlung † Ludwig Jäger, Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Elsass; Sammlung † Geh.-Rat Prof. Robert Piloty, Würzburg, Bistum Würzburg: Münzen u. Medaillen vieler Zeiten und Länder... ; Mittelaltermünzen ; Sammlung † Hofrat Hermann etc. ; griechische Münzen u. römische Münzen ; numismatische Bücher und Münzschränke$dAuktion ab Montag, den 24. Oktober 1927 (München, 1927) It doesn't appear to be an exact die match. It could be Visona 116 (O1/R47) but the coin is not illustrated in Macdonald, George. Catalogue of Greek Coins in the Hunterian Collection. University of Glasgow, vol. 3: Further Asia, Africa, Western Europe. or online at the Hunterian site. Here is mine: Carthage 160-146 BC AR dishekel 13.12 g, 25 mm, 12 h O: head Tanit left wearing grain wreath, single-pendant earring and bead necklace R: horse stepping right; head Hermes left wearing petasos below CNP 62h I didn't know when I purchased mine over 20 years ago, but it is a very rare variety as Visona could not locate the specimen, the only recorded example. It is Muller et al Numismatique de l'ancienne Afrique 123a.
THANK YOU very much for the kind message and all of the great references! This is super… very helpful. Your Dishekel is gorgeous, and the Hermes / petasos mark is unique (no pun intended, but appropriate!) Very nice!
My favorite Carthaginian Third Punic War coins are the rare gold 2/5 shekels, even more rare 1/5 shekel with a horse head on the reverse, and a unique shekel. I don't have a shekel or 1/5 shekel but here is my 2/5 shekel: Carthage 149-146 BC AV 2/5 shekel 3.04 g, 14 mm, 12 h O: head Tanit left wearing grain wreath, single-pendant earring and bead necklace R: horse stepping right (plain edge) J&L group XVIII 496; CNP 60 The gold is 98-99% pure. Each denomination is from a single obverse die and only the 2/5 shekel has more than 1 reverse die at 10. The shekel has a serrated edge like the AR dishekels and the 1/5 is plain edge. The 2/5 has both plain and serrated edges. Here is a link to the unique AV shekel from Larry Adams collection: CNG: Feature Auction CNG 100. CARTHAGE, Third Punic War. Circa 149-146 BC. Serrate AV Shekel (17mm, 7.59 g, 12h). And a 1/5 shekel in the BM collection: coin | British Museum The reason for the unusual denominations of 2/5 and 1/5 shekel is unknown. The coins are of great historical interest because they supposedly relate to this passage about the most desperate time of the siege: “The Carthaginian women contributed their gold jewelry. For now that life clung to the last narrow foothold, the whole populace felt that they were not losing their wealth but were by their gift re-establishing their own safety.” Diodorus Siculus, Library of History XXXII.9
