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Hannibal Ante Portas

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Istinpolin:
Now there are some coins issued during the time of Hannibal, but I was wondering if there are any coins depicting him or coins that show him as the ruler of the Cartheginians?

All I found were coins of Hannibalianus, who is Roman and lived centuries later.

Pscipio:
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

Istinpolin:
I guess I meant, kinda in my way, these coins.

Thanks a lot Lars

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