Burak,
Hannibal never was "ruler of the Carthaginians". He was a commander, a soldier, not a
king.
As far as I know, there is
still some dispute about the 2. Punic War Didrachms with male
head left on
obverse. Some think that these coins show Hannibal, others that it depicts Melkart. Provided that they were struck in
Carthage (first coin) rather than in
Italy and judging from historical view only, I'd doubt that it is Hannibal on the
obverse. He and
his actions were not undisputed at
Carthage; in fact there was a strong faction that was hostile to
his war policy. It sounds rather unconvincing to me that a general operating far abroad like Hannibal would be depticted on coins from
his home city, laureate, as if he were a
king.
There are other coins attributed to
Italian mints or to
Carthago Nova, areas directly controlled by Hannibal or
his brothers, where assuming that we are looking at a
portrait of Hannibal or of another
Barca sounds more convincing (second coin, from
Carthago Nova. Note that the potrait is bare-headed!).
Note that I haven't studied these coins; what a stated above is just my personal opinion that came into my mind when I thought about your question.
Lars
