The New York Sale
Auction 42 9 Jan 2018
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Carthaginian Occupation. Electrum 3/8 Shekel (2.82 g), ca. 216-211 BC. Struck at Bruttium. Janiform female heads, wreathed with grain ears. rev. Zeus, holding thunderbolt and scepter, standing in quadriga driven by Nike right. Jenkins & Lewis 487-93 (Capua); SNG ANS 146 (Capua); HN Italy 2013. Some tiny deposits scattered around the obverse surfaces. Extremely Fine. Estimated Value $4,000
This attractive electrum fraction from Bruttium seems a little confused about its identity. It was struck during Hannibal's occupation of the region in the Second Punic War (218-201 BC). The use of an electrum alloy and the shekel weight standard is typical of Carthaginian coinage of the period, but the types are closely modeled on the silver quadrigati (didrachms) struck by the Roman Republic (!) before the introduction of the denarius ca. 211 BC. The reverse depicting Jupiter in a four-horse chariot driven by Victory is directly copied from the quadrigati while the obverse has been modified to better fit the Carthaginian context. While the Roman quadrigati depict a laureate male janiform head - presumably Janus himself, the god of beginnings and endings (especially in relation to war) - on this electrum piece the janiform head is female and wears a grain wreath to indicate that a form of the Punic goddess Tanit was intended.
This attractive electrum fraction from Bruttium seems a little confused about its identity. It was struck during Hannibal's occupation of the region in the Second Punic War (218-201 BC). The use of an electrum alloy and the shekel weight standard is typical of Carthaginian coinage of the period, but the types are closely modeled on the silver quadrigati (didrachms) struck by the Roman Republic (!) before the introduction of the denarius ca. 211 BC. The reverse depicting Jupiter in a four-horse chariot driven by Victory is directly copied from the quadrigati while the obverse has been modified to better fit the Carthaginian context. While the Roman quadrigati depict a laureate male janiform head - presumably Janus himself, the god of beginnings and endings (especially in relation to war) - on this electrum piece the janiform head is female and wears a grain wreath to indicate that a form of the Punic goddess Tanit was intended.