Stater of Carthage

Place of OriginTunisia, Carthage, reportedly found in North Sicily

Dateabout 310-290 BCE

DimensionsDiam. 3/4 in. (1.9 cm)

MediumElectrum

ClassificationMetalwork

Credit LineGift of Mrs. George E. Pomeroy

Object number

1924.140

Not on View

DescriptionAn electrum stater (19 mm) struck at the mint of Carthage. Obverse: Profile head of a female deity facing left, identified as Tanit or Persephone. She wears a wreath of grain ears (identifying her with agriculture/fertility), a necklace, and pendant earrings. Reverse: A free horse standing on a ground line, facing right.

Label TextThis coin was minted by Carthage, the great North African rival of Rome, during a period of intense conflict over the island of Sicily. The front features the goddess Tanit (often equated with the Greek Persephone), crowned with ears of wheat to symbolize the fertile agricultural wealth of the Punic empire. The reverse displays a standing horse, the emblem of Carthage. Unlike pure gold or silver issues, this coin is struck from electrum, a natural or artificial alloy of both metals. This specific coin was reportedly found in northern Sicily, a testament to the movement of armies and money during the wars between Carthage and the Greek tyrants of Syracuse.Published References

Visona, Paolo, The Mint and the Message: 1000 Years of Currency from Darius to Justinian, Ann Arbor, The Kelsey Museum, 1981, no. 28, p. 3.

Exhibition History

Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, The Mint and the Message: 1000 Years of Currency from Darius to Justinian, 1981, no. 28.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Jenkins, S.K. and R.B. Lewis, Carthaginian Gold and Electrum Coins, Royal Numismatic Society Special Publication no. 2, London, 1963, pl. 10, no. 250, group V, p. 96, 32. Found in S. Italian hoards of time of Agathoples.