OVERSTRIKE DETECTIVE WORK

LOL, EXCELLENT!

 

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@Alegandron and others-- I'm trying to understand the Libyan Revolt coinage. If the attributions are correct, both the Herakles/Lion type and the Tanit/horse coin undertype were both struck by the rebels. Why would the rebels overstrike an overstrike? Seems like they'd have enough to do without bothering about their coins. It must've signified something-- a re-tariff? A change in command? The undertype has a Punic M. I wonder what that meant, and was the overstriking of Herakles/lion meant to signify a leadership change?

 

I do NOT claim any type of historical authority, and it is all my conjecture since so little is really available from these histories.

However, put yourself into that time: Carthage employed Mercenaries for a LOT of their war machine each time they fought. Carthage lost a major war with a upcoming rival (Rome), and had to pay massive punitive damages / indemnities for the war (hmmm... I wonder if "Punic", Roman name for Carthage - originally from Tyre or Phoenician-Punic, is the derivative of "Punitive"...), sorry, I digressed...

They still had to pay a MASSIVE amount to muster the Mercenary troops consisting of Celts, Iberians, Numidians, Libyans, etc... An idiot Carthage General kept stalling, lying, etc. in order to delay paying the troops when they surrendered on Sicily. He then had the BRILLIANT idea of transporting those 50,000 Mercenaries to the Carthage area. This war lasted 3 horriby bloody years AFTER they lost to the Romans.

The war was supported and fought over North Africa, but a lot of support came from Mercenaries still in Sardinia and Sicily ( both taken from Carthage by Rome.) The mercenaries were building legitimacy and support for their cause, especially getting the Libyans on their side to fight Carthage. Having no means to be paid, I am sure they looted, stole, confiscated as many coins / precious metals to re-strike into coins depicting THEIR cause. We all know that coins were a huge means of communicating from the authorities to the masses. Some of my Mercenary War / Libyan War coins are from Sardinia, and from North Africa.

Mercenary / Libyan War coins are a little tougher to get...


Carthage - LIBYAN REVOLT 241-238 BCE Sardinia mint Tanit 3 Grain ears SNG Cop 252


Carthage - LIBYAN REVOLT Rebels 241-238 BCE 9.63g 24mm Shekel Sardinia mint Tanit 3 Grain ears Crescent SNG Cop 247


Carthage Zeugitania Libyan Revolt AR Shekel 24mm 7.34g 241-238 BCE Wreathed Tanit Horse stndg control mark and Punic M SNG Cop 236


Carthage Zeugitania after 241 DIshekel AE 27 10.8g Libyan Revolt Tanit - Horse r palm MAA 45 SNG Cop 253 scarce