Hi all! I was browsing eBay a few days ago, and managed to score myself another antoninianus of Mariniana - this one for £25. It's not as nice as the other one I bought for £8 recently, but I felt it was worth the price. Before paying, I checked the other coins that the seller had for sale, and saw this rather nice looking coin from Carthage. It is in rather nice condition, although it does have quite a bit of corrosion - particularly on the reverse. The seller accepted my offer of £20 for it I know almost nothing about these, so am curious to see how I did. Also, if anyone has any more precise attribution, I would welcome hearing it (all I know is that it has Tanit facing left on the obverse, and a horse head on the reverse, and that it is from Zeugitana) It is quite chunky, and is 29mm in diameter, and weighs 15.41g. Thanks!
IMO the size makes this an acceptable purchase. It would be too much for the smaller ones of the type which are available in better condition for a lower price. 27mm 17.17g (a thick coin) 18mm 5.7g I sold a much nicer Mariniana of the other type for a loss through one of our CT friend's auctions. Her coins came at a low point of metal quality so tend to be ugly. I no longer have one of any grade but was hoping to get back what I had paid. Your £8 coin may return its cost soon but this £25 will not for a long time unless I miss my guess. Who bought this in AMCC2?
Carthaginians in Italy Ar Half Shekel 215-211 BC Unknown mint in Italy. Obv. Head of Tanit left wreathed in grain ears Rv Horse standing right. 3.68 grms 18 mm Photo by W. Hansen This coin has the distinction of being one of the first "Greek" coins that I had ever purchased. At the time of purchase it was yet unclear as to where this coin was minted however I eventually found the research that placed this coin among those minted under the aegis of Hannibal while he was campaigning in Italy. There appears to be two groups of this coinage, this coin is listed as being among the first group.
I think you got an interesting Carthaginian coin to add to your collection for a very reasonable price. These large AE were struck in Sardinia during the First Punic War 264-241 BC. Many were subsequently overstruck. The denomination is uncertain but are sometimes referred to as dishekels because of the weight. They are classified by ancillary symbols. On the reverse, yours appears to have the Punic letter "Ayin" in the lower right field. The attribution below is for the variety with only the letter "Ayin." One of the most most common attributions for the type is SNG Cop 192-201 because SNG Cop has a large number of Carthaginian AEs, but yours is not one of the SNG Cop varieties. More specifically, it appears to be Muller 289, Alexandropoulos 58p, CNP 248aw and Piras 113. SNG Cop = Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum, Denmark, The Royal Collection of Coins and Medals, Danish National Museum Vol 8: Egypt, North Africa, Spain - Gaul (Parts 40 - 43), 1994 Muller L, Falbe CT, Lindberg JC Numismatique de l’Ancienne Afrique. (Reprint) Chicago, 1977. Alexanderopoulos J Les Monnaies de l’Afrique Antique 400 av. J.-C.- 40 ap. J.-C. Toulouse, 2000. CNP = Viola M Corpus Nummorum Punicorum, Rome 2010 Piras E Le Monete Sardo-Puniche, Torino 1993 I have a few of the type, but here is my favorite: 15.97 gm, 29 mm O: head Tanit left R: horse head right; caduceus lower right SNG Cop 197; Muller 296; Alexandropoulos 58d; CNP 248m; Piras 81 ex-Freedman, Triton V:582 01/15/2002
I’d have to agree that you can’t go wrong at 20GBP for a chonky specimen like that with some good detail present despite areas of corrosion. Thats a win. I just posted my first Carthaginian coin last week.. like yours I felt it was a good deal at 150 euro. Despite some surface roughness I’d have happily paid more.
Here is one from Carthage in Sardinia, before the Romans took it from them: Carthage Sardinia AE19 First Punic war 264-241 BCE 5.4g Tanit left - Horse head right symbol SNG Cop 225
@Alegandron Very nice Punic AE. However, I think the attribution is different. SNG 225 is a similar coin, but smaller and no symbols. Here is mine: AE 2.21 gm, 14 mm O: head Tanit left R: horse head right SNG Cop 225 Yours is SNG Cop 145-146 (six-ray star) Also, CNP 251f and Alexandropolous 57b Most references date the coin to 300-264 BC and Sardinia mint. However, Visona thought the nicer style like yours was from a mint in Sicily during the same period and cruder types from Sardinia. He based his conclusion on: Find locations - Sardinia vs Sicily Ancillary symbols - similar Tanit neck truncation - concave vs convex Necklace - string vs pendant Style - cruder vs better Visona P "Carthaginian Coinage in Perspective" AJN 10:1-27, 1998 For comparison, here is one of my more "Sardinian” examples: AE 4.7 gm, 20 mm O: head Tanit left R: horse head right; palm tree to right; pellet below ear; pellet below neck SNG Cop -; Piras 23 Also, @Harry G I think the symbol in the reverse lower right field of your coin may actually be a caduceus based on the style of the heads. You may want to check
@Alegandron : very nice coin !! i agree with @Silphium Addict for the attribution and recent studies tend to attribute your coin to carthage or to a western sicilian mint (e.g. Suzanne Frey-Kupper 2014) My two Punic coins attributed to an unknown Sardinian mint not that bad in style : SNG Cop. 149/150 6.22 g. 20.00 mm SNG Cop. 196 15.15 g. 29.00 mm I'm a big fan of Sardinia and I'm trying to rehabilitate the artistic talent of its engravers a bit a view from Portixeddu in the southwest of the island :
