★ Exceedingly rare piece ★

Zeugitania. Carthage. Circa 264-241 (First Punic War) BC. Hexadrachm (Silver, 35.24 mm, 24.63 g). Head of Tanit left, wearing wreath of grain ears, triple-pendant earring and a pendant necklace; behind her neck, Phoenician letter 'b' (bet) or 'r' (resh). Rev. Horse standing right; above, solar disc supported by two uraeus serpents. Jenkins & Lewis pl. 27,4 (different dies). MAA 38 (drawn). Lightly toned. Minor pitting on the obverse fields. Good Very Fine/Extremely Fine. Exceedingly rare piece, struck from dies unrecorded.

From a Swiss collection formed before 2005.

During the First Punic War (264-241 BC), silver coins minted by Carthage were not common. Carthaginian coinage primarily consisted of electrum (a gold-silver alloy) and bronze, as these metals were more accessible to them. Silver was less frequently used due to its scarcity in Carthaginian territories. However, during the war, some rare silver coins were minted to pay mercenary troops, particularly Greek soldiers accustomed to silver payments. This exceedingly rare coin appears to have been struck from a pair of dies never recorded before. Interestingly, the hairstyle of Tanit features tufts resembling a swan at the top of the head, similar to the Trihemistater of Jenkins & Lewis Group IX, dated just before the First Punic War, around 270-264 BC."