Lot 2083
Sicily, Entella. Silver Tetradrachm (17.62 g), ca. 407-398 BC. Siculo-Punic issue. Forepart of horse left; above, Nike flying left, crowning horse with wreath; in left field, barley corn. Reverse: 'QRTHDST' below, palm tree with two date clusters. Jenkins 30 (O8/R29); SNG Lloyd 1607 (same dies). Untoned. Well struck and nicely centered. Extremely Fine. Estimate Value $5,000 - UP
From the Dr. Patrick Tan Collection. Ex CNR XLI.3 (Fall 2016); Marian A. Sinton Collection (Triton III, 30 November 1999), 337; Noble 64A (12 July 2000), 2425.
This tetradrachm was struck by the Punic forces based in the Sicilian city of Entella during the offensive against the Greek cities of eastern Sicily in 407-398 BC. Despite the frequent outbreak of plague during the campaign, by its end, Carthage was at the height of its power in Sicily, with the cities of Selinos, Thermai, Akragas, Gela and Kamarina all under Punic domination. The horse forepart crowned by Nike on the obverse had a dual meaning. On the one hand it referred to the Campanian mercenaries who were an important component of Punic armies on Sicily and whose home cities often used a galloping horse as a type. On the other hand it could be read as an allusion to Carthage, a city said to have been founded on a hill where the head of a horse was uncovered. The palm tree reverse makes reference to the Phoenician origin of the Punic Carthaginians: the Greek name for the region is derived from phoinix, the Greek word for "palm tree."
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| Realized $6,756 |
