Nomos 30

ISLANDS OFF SICILY, Uncertain, but possibly Lopadusa. Circa 2nd century BC. (Bronze, 15 mm, 3.16 g, 7 h). gl, in Punic. Crab seen from above. Rev. b, in Punic, Crab seen from above. Buceti p. 319, note to Motya 35. Calciati 5 (as Lopadusa). SNG ANS 1357 (as Motya). SNG Morcom 933 var. (as Lopadusa). With a lovely olive-green patina; sharply struck and of exceptionally fine quality. Extremely fine.

From the Dr. Paul Peter Urone Collection, ex Astarte 9, 16 May 2002, 1085 (sold as Motya).

The reason why coins of this type are attributed to Lopadusa rather than Motya, aside from the fact that some have actually been found there, is because most are struck on particularly crudely made flans that are almost invariably too small for the dies used to strike them. This is not the case for coins minted in Motya. An intriguing factor is that it seems that a considerable number of dies were used to strike these crab coins, thus indicating that, originally, a considerable number of them must have been struck. Why would a small island have needed such a large number - was it already a center for refugees in ancient times?