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232
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ANCIENT GREECE - GREEK
See original version (French)
232
-
ANCIENT GREECE - GREEK
See original version (French)
Estimate €500
Voluntary lot
Description
ANCIENT GREECE - GREEK
Zeugitane, Carthage. Half-shekel ND (213–210 BC), Carthage.
Obverse: Laureate head of Hercules-Melqart facing left, with realistic features.
Reverse: Elephant walking to the right; beneath the exergue line, the Phoenician letter A (aleph).
SNG Cop.383 – Burnett, Treasure of Enna, 123v.; Silver – 3.81 g – 17.5 mm – 6 h
Acquired from C. Silberstein in 1985.
On a slightly defective blank, with a somewhat faint strike. Slightly off-centre with a grey patina. TTB.
On the obverse, the realistic depiction of a laureate figure is attributed to Hercules-Melqart, a deity imported from Tyre by the Phoenician colonists who founded Carthage, or to Triptolemus, the god of agriculture. It could also be a portrait of Hannibal’s father, General Hamilcar Barca. The elephant on the reverse, an emblematic animal, was notably used by Hannibal Barca during the Second Punic War (218–202 BC). The crossing of the Alps in 218 BC by Carthaginian troops accompanied by these impressive pachyderms ranks among the greatest military feats of antiquity. Previously attributed by Robinson to Gades in Spain in 209 BC, these coins found in the Enna hoard are now dated to the Sicilian expedition of 213–210 BC, and attributed to Carthage for circulation in Sicily [A. Burnett, *The Enna Hoard and the Silver Coinage of the Syracusan Democracy*, SNR 62, 1983]
See original version (French)
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Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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