Lucania, Metapontion. Punic occupation, circa 215-207 BC. Half shekel

Lucania, Metapontion. Punic occupation, circa 215-207 BC. Half shekel (Silver, 20 mm, 3.93 g, 6h). Head of Athena right, wearing crested Corinthian helmet. Rev. ΜΕΤΑ Ear of barley with leaf to right; above leaf, owl standing facing with wings spread. HGC 1, 1092; HN Italy 1634; Robinson, “Second,” p. 50, 3; SNG ANS 550. Lustrous and fresh. Good extremely fine. A fresh and sharply preserved example of the short-lived Punic-standard silver struck at Metapontion during the Second Punic War. The issue belongs to the period after several Greek cities of southern Italy broke from Rome and aligned themselves, willingly or under pressure, with Hannibal’s forces. Like the contemporary half shekels of Tarentum, the coin retains a strongly local Greek civic identity while adopting a weight standard suited to Carthaginian military finance. The reverse is unmistakably Metapontine. The barley ear had served as the city’s principal badge since the archaic period, reflecting the agricultural wealth of the fertile plain around Metapontion. The small owl above the leaf adds an Athenian and martial resonance, especially when paired with Athena on the obverse, but the type remains rooted in the city’s own long numismatic tradition rather than appearing as a foreign occupation design. This issue represents one of the final phases of meaningful silver coinage at Metapontion. Its historical setting is narrow and dramatic: the Hannibalic war in southern Italy, before Rome reasserted control over the region. Examples are often found with flatness, roughness, or signs of hurried production, so a lustrous, fresh piece in good extremely fine condition is notably desirable.