Carthaginians in Sicily

Considering my avatar of Hannibal, I have surprisingly few examples of Punic coins....just three nice bronzes and I've always been after a nice Tet to round it out a bit. But it seems someone else always wanted every coin I was after at a higher price than I was prepared to go. Then I ran across this slabbed Tet on FORVM and the price offered was in the ball-park of those at auction---especially if one factored in the buyer's fees. And this example was available on layaway. Then a weird thing happened. When a USPS tracking notice never appeared, I contacted Joe to determine the delay. It seems the Tet dropped out of his pocket after he attempted a reshoot of the coin. When nearly two weeks went by and it still couldn't be located, refund arrangements were being finalized.Then I received an e-mail from Joe stating excitedly that he finally found it under the floor mat of the back seat passenger side of his car. What an unbelievable turn of events LOL

Coins of this type and grade tend to be pricey and this less than perfect example is no exception. In fact, this is the single most expensive coin I have purchased since returning to collecting a little more than two years ago. And it easily surpasses the single most expensive coin I purchased in my previously owned collection.

Rather than make this unbearably wordy, I'll provide the following link as a synopsis for the three Punic Wars, allowing those interested to conduct research at their leisure. This Tet was struck circa 300-289 BC prior to the first Punic War.

And for those not at all familiar:

"At the height of its prominence, Carthage's influence extended over most of the western Mediterranean. Rivalry with Rome led to a series of conflicts, the Punic Wars. The Third Punic War ended in the complete destruction of the city, annexation by Rome of all Carthaginian territory, and the death or enslavement of the entire Carthaginian population."

http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ac53

Please indulge yourselves and pile on!!


Silver tetradrachm, Jenkins Punic 394 (O120/R322); SNG CopVIII 91; Dewing 983; SGCV II 6438; HGC 2 295, NGC Choice VF, strike 4/5, surface 5/5 (3819620-001), Sicilian mint, weight 17.03g, maximum diameter 23mm, die axis 225o, 300 - 289 B.C.; obverse head of Herakles right, clad in lion's scalp; reverse horse's head left, palm tree behind, Punic inscription MHSBM (paymasters) below; NGC certified

 

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Very nice!

 

Great coin and great story

 

Great coin. I am glad it finally made its way to you.

 

Wow, a Tet... nice job @Mikey Zee ! Well done.

Great story. That must had been pretty frustrating for Joe! Speaking of which, now that I moved from NC, I can start buying more from Joe without an extra 7-1/2% sales tax!

 

Harrowing!

 

Wow, I can understand how excited you were when you first put it in layaway. I bet even more so now that its in hand.
Nice addition Mikey.

 

Ooooh, nice!! I'd love to have one of those.

 

Wow, Mikey-Z => that OP-coin is amazing!! .....

=> it's like a fricken Greatest Hits of Obverse and Reverse!!

I'm totally jealous of that winna-winna!!

 

I just have to ask, are you going to free that baby?

 

wow! super nice one! i've never seen anything like it.

 

Of course

 

Well Mikey, they just don't get much better than that.

 

Congrats Mikey, must already be the coin of 2017 for you.
Also Hope to get my hands on one of those , its on my wish list.

For now I enjoy this Sicilian horsey:

 

A bronze horse:



A silver horse:


An electrum horse:

John

 

I like Theodosius' lead:

CARTHAGE STABLES:

Bronze Horse:




Silver Horse:




Electrum Horse:




Gold Horse:

 

Changed mine to electrum!

 

Congrats @Mikey Zee ! Love it!

 

Oh, man, I wish mine were gold... pure Gold in our size is purdy costly...

 

Congrats Mikey!