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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Silphium Addict, post: 25945330, member: 116882&quot;]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.</p><p>I don&#039;t have a shekel or 1/5 shekel but here is my 2/5 shekel:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1651256[/ATTACH]</p><p>Carthage</p><p>149-146 BC</p><p>AV 2/5 shekel</p><p>3.04 g, 14 mm, 12 h</p><p>O: head Tanit left wearing grain wreath, single-pendant earring and bead necklace</p><p>R: horse stepping right</p><p>(plain edge)</p><p>J&amp;L group XVIII 496; CNP 60</p><p><br /></p><p>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.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here is a link to the unique AV shekel from Larry Adams collection:</p><p><a href="https://cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=291994" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=291994" rel="nofollow">CNG: Feature Auction CNG 100. CARTHAGE, Third Punic War. Circa 149-146 BC. Serrate AV Shekel (17mm, 7.59 g, 12h).</a></p><p><u><br /></u></p><p><u>And a 1/5 shekel in the BM collection:</u></p><p><a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1938-0102-2" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1938-0102-2" rel="nofollow">coin | British Museum</a></p><p><br /></p><p>The reason for the unusual denominations of 2/5 and 1/5 shekel is unknown.</p><p><br /></p><p>The coins are of great historical interest because they supposedly relate to this passage about the most desperate time of the siege:</p><p>“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.”</p><p>Diodorus Siculus, <i>Library of History</i> XXXII.9[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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