Object Description
A beautiful electrum stater, minted in Zeugitana, Carthage. The obverse displays the head of the goddess Tanit, the patron goddess of Carthage, shown in profile, facing left. She is rendered naturalistically, with much attention paid to her facial features, including her eyes, long, straight nose and closed lips. She has a serene expression and the curling locks of hair are swept up, away from her face, with a few escaping her updo. She wears a wreath of wheat on her head, alongside other adornments, such as a triple-pendant earring and a necklace of many oblong shaped pendants, each surmounted by a circular pellet on her long neck. By the bottom of her neck, there is a dot in the left field. The reverse features a horse facing right standing on a straight ground line. Like the goddess, the horse is shown in profile, with its mouth slightly agape, and is rendered naturalistically. From its curving body, supported by its strong, straight legs, a long curving tail extends out from the back, contrasting its short mane. Two dots appear below the exergue line. Both the obverse and the reverse are presented within a dotted border.
Date: Circa 310-290 BC