MAURETANIA. Gunugu. Circa 50-1 BC. AE (Bronze, 20 mm, 5.61 g, 12 h). 𐤂𐤍𐤂𐤍 ('GNGN' in Neo-Punic) Bearded male head (Melquart, or Baʿal Hammon?) to right, wearing radiate (or mural?) crown; behind, kerykerion. Rev. 𐤂𐤍 (?) ('GN' in Neo-Punic) Head of Bacchus to right; before, grape on vine. MAA 150a (illustrated in a drawing only!). Of the highest rarity and great interest. Cleaning scratches, otherwise, very fine.


Gunugu was a small Punic coastal settlement in what would eventually become the Roman province of Mauretania Caesariensis. Situated near the modern village of Gouraya some 120 km west of Algier (ancient Icosium), the city struck an extremely rare and somewhat enigmatic bronze coinage that is difficult to date, with Alexandropoulos suggesting the 2nd half of the 1st century BC due to the usage of the Neo-Punic script and the lack of royal insignia. Adding to the mystery is the iconography of the larger of the two known types, which shows a bearded male head on the obverse and a more youthful male head on the reverse. The latter is accompanied by a grape on a vine, hinting at a vine god, perhaps Bacchus, but the identity of the former is less clear. Wearing a distinct pointed beard, his attributes are a kerykeion and a radiate (or mural?) crown. Alexandropoulos suggests Melqart or Baʿal Hammon, but he admits these are just educated guesses for the time being.