CARTHAGO PUNIC, SNG 976, Date c. 310-270 BC, Elektrum Stater Zeugitania Carthage, Tanit, Horse

★ Near Mint-State, stunning extremely fine condition - impressive detailed obverse and reverse presentation - a undestroyed tanit head presentation at the obverse, a undestroyed horse presentation at the reverse - perfectly centered - lovely golden color toning - issued before first punic war against roman republic - a little jewel in every collection ★
GREEK COINS - PUNIC - CARTHAGO
Mint: Zeugitania, Carthage
Date: c. 310/270 BC
Nominal: Stater
Material: Elektron Elektrum (Gołd / Silver)
Diameter: 19mm
Weight: 7.35g
Reference: MBC -
Reference: cf. SBG 6462
Reference: cf. SNG Copenhagen 976
Reference: cf. Jenkins Group V 341
Obverse: Head of Tanit to left, crowned with wreath of corn, wearing earring with triple pendants and necklace, dotted border
Inscription: -
Translation: -
Reverse: Free horse standing to right, double exergue line below, one dot before horse's front leg, dotted border
Inscription: -
Translation: -
Comment: The Carthaginians, called Poeni (Punic) by the Romans, were a Levantine seafaring people who controlled the western Mediterranean in the middle of the 3rd century BC. Carthage in present-day Tunisia was initially a colony of the Phoenician city of Tyre. When Tyre came under pressure from the expansion of the Assyrians, Babylonians and Persians and lost its independence, Carthage succeeded in taking over most of the Phoenician colonies in the west in the 6th century BC and became their mother city and protective power. Early on, the city controlled western Sicily with the impregnable fortress of Lilybaion, without ever conquering the entire island, as the Greek cities there in particular resisted the Punic invaders. Before the middle of the 3rd century BC, the relationship between Rome and Carthage was cooperative and several treaties were concluded. The two powers were still allied in the Pyrrhic War from 280 to 275 BC. As a consequence of this war, the Romans extended their sphere of influence to Lower Italy. When Rome saw an opportunity to establish a bridgehead to Sicily in 264 BC, Carthage opposed this endeavor in order to protect its own possessions in the west of the island. Even in antiquity, it was disputed whether the Romans were breaking treaties with the Carthaginians by intervening in Sicily. However, this initially local conflict escalated into a battle for supremacy in the western Mediterranean during the First and Second Punic Wars. The war lasted 43 years and was fought with great commitment by both sides. The first phase lasted until 241 BC and ended with a Roman victory after a series of battles, as a result of which Carthage gave up Sicily. In 238 BC, the Romans used internal conflicts in North Africa to occupy Sardinia and Corsica in violation of the treaty. The Carthaginian barbarians then subjugated most of the Iberian Peninsula (Hispania). Fighting broke out again in 218 BC. Whether the Carthaginian Hannibal or the Roman Senate was responsible for the escalation is disputed. Hannibal pre-empted the Roman invasion of Hispania and Africa by crossing the Pyrenees and the Alps and turning Italy itself into a theater of war. Although Rome initially suffered losses and was on the brink of defeat several times, it won this campaign thanks to its will to persevere and its superior reserves of men and material, while Carthage emerged weakened. After the final triumph at the Battle of Zama in 202 BC, Carthage lay on the ground and saw itself reduced to the status of a Roman vassal state; the battle for hegemony in the western Mediterranean had been decided in Rome's favor. Meanwhile, the followers of the Roman Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder in particular allegedly feared a resurgence of the Punic enemy and massively favored Carthage's North African rivals. They were also attracted by the city's wealth, which was still intact. Finally, the Romans finally eliminated the Carthaginian state in the Third Punic War. They destroyed the city itself in 146 BC and established the new province of Africa. The city of Carthage was refounded around a century later under Gaius Julius Caesar and experienced renewed prosperity in the following centuries as part of the Imperium Romanum, which lasted until the end of antiquity. The Phoenician-Punic language survived until the Arabic period and may not have died out until the 10th century.