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ANA Signature Sale 3101 25-28 Aug 2022
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ZEUGITANA. Carthage. Time of Hannibal (213-210 BC). AR half-shekel (18mm, 2.85 gm, 2h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 3/5. Second Punic War issue. Carthage or uncertain mint in Sicily, ca. 213-210 BC. Laureate male head left (Melqart, Hannibal, or Mago?); dotted border / African elephant advancing right; alef (Phoenician) in exergue, linear border. A. Burnett, SNR 62 (1983), 123. E. S. G. Robinson, "Punic Coins of Spain and their Bearing on the Roman Republican Series,"Essays Mattingly series 8b, pl. III (Gades). SNG Copenhagen 383. Solidly struck and with deep toning. Attractive portrait and fiercely determined elephant.
The distinctive obverse head has been variously described in the literature as a depiction of Melqart, a Semitic version of Heracles, Hannibal in the guise of the god, or possibly his brother Mago. Modern scholarship, which tends to be suspicious of early claims to see portraits in images of gods, interprets the head as that of Melqart. However, the distinct physiognomy of the nose and other facial features, as well as the sideburns, suggest an attempt at true portraiture.
This intriguing coin was tentatively assigned by E. S. G. Robinson to an uncertain mint in Spain, probably located at Gades (op. cit. pp. 43-5), and dated to 209 BC. In light of both the Enna hoard, which contained several examples, and an additional hoard from Campania, both Jenkins (SNG Copenhagen) and Villaronga (Gaceta Numismatica 40 [March 1976]: 15-6) reattributed them to the period of the Punic expedition to Sicily of 213-210 BC. There still remains the question of mint, however, with the many examples showing a 12h die-axis, strongly indicating Carthage as opposed to a Siculo-Punic mint of the time. Nevertheless, the discovery of additional hoards in Sicily indicates the certainty that the issue was struck for use as payment to the mercenaries stationed on the island.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/greek/ancients-zeugitana-carthage-time-of-hannibal-213-210-bc-ar-half-shekel-18mm-285-gm-2h-ngc-choice-au-5-5-/a/3101-34006.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3101-08252022
HID02906262019
© 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 8000-10000 USD
ZEUGITANA. Carthage. Time of Hannibal (213-210 BC). AR half-shekel (18mm, 2.85 gm, 2h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 3/5. Second Punic War issue. Carthage or uncertain mint in Sicily, ca. 213-210 BC. Laureate male head left (Melqart, Hannibal, or Mago?); dotted border / African elephant advancing right; alef (Phoenician) in exergue, linear border. A. Burnett, SNR 62 (1983), 123. E. S. G. Robinson, "Punic Coins of Spain and their Bearing on the Roman Republican Series,"Essays Mattingly series 8b, pl. III (Gades). SNG Copenhagen 383. Solidly struck and with deep toning. Attractive portrait and fiercely determined elephant.
The distinctive obverse head has been variously described in the literature as a depiction of Melqart, a Semitic version of Heracles, Hannibal in the guise of the god, or possibly his brother Mago. Modern scholarship, which tends to be suspicious of early claims to see portraits in images of gods, interprets the head as that of Melqart. However, the distinct physiognomy of the nose and other facial features, as well as the sideburns, suggest an attempt at true portraiture.
This intriguing coin was tentatively assigned by E. S. G. Robinson to an uncertain mint in Spain, probably located at Gades (op. cit. pp. 43-5), and dated to 209 BC. In light of both the Enna hoard, which contained several examples, and an additional hoard from Campania, both Jenkins (SNG Copenhagen) and Villaronga (Gaceta Numismatica 40 [March 1976]: 15-6) reattributed them to the period of the Punic expedition to Sicily of 213-210 BC. There still remains the question of mint, however, with the many examples showing a 12h die-axis, strongly indicating Carthage as opposed to a Siculo-Punic mint of the time. Nevertheless, the discovery of additional hoards in Sicily indicates the certainty that the issue was struck for use as payment to the mercenaries stationed on the island.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/greek/ancients-zeugitana-carthage-time-of-hannibal-213-210-bc-ar-half-shekel-18mm-285-gm-2h-ngc-choice-au-5-5-/a/3101-34006.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3101-08252022
HID02906262019
© 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Estimate: 8000-10000 USD