Fine Coins Showcase
Antiquities Showcase
Show Empty Categories
Shop Search
Shopping Cart
My FORVM
Contact Us
About Forum
Shopping at Forum
Our Guarantee
Payment Options
Shipping Options & Fees
Privacy & Security
Forum Staff
Selling Your Coins
Identifying Your Coin
FAQs
zoom.asp
Home ▸ Catalog ▸ |Greek Coins| ▸ |Geographic - All Periods| ▸ |North Africa| ▸ |Kyrenaica||View Options:   | | | Kyrenaica, the eastern coastal region of Libya, was colonized by Greeks beginning in the 7th century B.C. Western Kyrenaicia was known as Pentapolis for its five cities: Cyrene (near modern Shahat) with its port of Apollonia (Marsa Susa), Arsinoe or Taucheira (Tocra), Euesperides or Berenice (near modern Benghazi), Balagrae (Bayda) and Barce (Marj). Cyrenaica produced barley, wheat, olive oil, wine, figs, apples, wool, sheep, cattle, and silphium, an herb that grew only in Kyrenaica and was regarded as a medicinal cure and aphrodisiac. Kyrene was one of the greatest intellectual and artistic centers of the Greek world, famous for its medical school, academies, and fine Hellenistic architecture. In 525 B.C. Persia took the Pentapolis. Alexander the Great received tribute from these cities after he took Egypt. The Pentapolis was annexed by Ptolemy I Soter. It briefly gained independence under Magas of Cyrene, stepson of Ptolemy I, but was reabsorbed into the Ptolemaic empire after his death. It was separated from the main kingdom by Ptolemy VIII and given to his son Ptolemy Apion, who, dying without heirs in 96 B.C., bequeathed it to the Roman Republic. |
The Valentine Coin! Silphium, which is now extinct, was so critical to the Kyrenian economy that most of their coins depict it. The plant was used as a spice and to treat all kinds of maladies including cough, sore throat, fever, indigestion, pain, and warts. It was so widely used as a contraceptive that it was worth its weight in denarii. The traditional heart shape, the symbol of love, is probably derived from the shape of the silphium seed due to the use of silphium as a contraceptive.
"By the next day this maiden and all her girlish apparel had disappeared, and in the room were found images of the Dioscuri, a table, and silphium upon it." - Description of Greece, Pausanias 3.16.3, 2nd Century A.D.SH15373. Silver drachm, Traité I, pl. 63, 15; BMC Cyrenaica 36; ex Leu 22, 1979, 181, gVF, weight 2.562 g, maximum diameter 12.1 mm, die axis 90o, obverse two Silphium fruits set on a base, pedicels coinciding, pellet above and below; reverse Silphium fruit in an incuse square, pellet in each corner; very rare; SOLD
Kyrene, Kyrenaika, North Africa, c. 37 - 36 B.C.
This is perhaps the last numismatic depiction of a silphium plant.
The Crassus in named on this coin cannot be the wealthy triumvirate colleague of Julius Caesar and Pompey, who died in 53 B.C., long before this coinage. This Crassus is almost certainly his grandson, Marcus Licinius Crassus the Younger. He fought with Sextus Pompey but transferred his loyalty to Marc Antony in c. 36 B.C. Under Mark Antony he was responsible for Crete and Cyrene. Shortly before Actium, Crassus defected to Octavian. He was consul in 30 B.C., triumphed in 27 B.C., and died long after.GB96100. Bronze quadrans, RPC Online I 918 (12 spec.); BMC Cyrenaica p. 64, 26; Asolati 149a-b; SNG Cop 1312; Müller Afrique -, VF, brown tone, well centered, porous, edge cracks/splits, beveled obverse edge, weight 3.366 g, maximum diameter 17.3 mm, die axis 180o, Kyrene (near Shahhat, Libya) mint, magistrate Crassus, c. 37 - 36 B.C.; obverse KPA (Crassus), head of Libya right, with corkscrew curls; reverse silphium plant, K-Y/P-A (Kyrene) flanking in two divided lines; rare; SOLD
Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, Ptolemy III Euergetes, 246 - 222 B.C.
SH33185. Silver didrachm, SNG Cop 429 corr. (date and reign); BMC Ptolemies p. 76, 11 corr. (same), VF, weight 4.426 g, maximum diameter 20.5 mm, die axis 0o, Kyrene (near Shahhat, Libya) mint, obverse diademed and draped bust of Berenike I right; reverse BEPENIKHΣ / BAΣIΛIΣΣHΣ, club, monogram below, trident above, all within wreath; SOLD
Ptolemaic Kingdom of Kyrenaica, Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II (Physcon), 163 - 145 B.C.
Ptolemy VIII was made co-ruler of Egypt with his older siblings in 170 B.C. Soon after, Ptolemy VI was captured in the Sixth Syrian War and Ptolemy VIII became sole king. When the war ended in 168 B.C. Ptolemy VI was restored to joint rule. The brothers quarreled and in 164 B.C. Ptolemy VIII drove out his brother out and became sole king, but he was in turn expelled in 163 B.C. As a result of Roman intervention, Ptolemy VIII was awarded rule of Kyrenaica. After Ptolemy VI's death in 145 B.C., Ptolemy VIII returned to Egypt as co-ruler with his sister.GP95308. Bronze hemidrachm, Svoronos 1641, pl. LVI, 14; Asolati 84; SNG Cop 651; BMC Ptolemies p. 94, 78; Malter 242; Weiser -; Noeske -, EF, areas of weak strike, obverse edge beveled, edge crack, weight 36.82 g, maximum diameter 43.0 mm, Kyrene (near Shahhat, Libya) mint, c. 150 B.C.; obverse diademed and horned head of Zeus Ammon right, taenia with basileion above forehead; reverse BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΠTOΛEMAIOY EYEPΓETOY, eagle standing right on thunderbolt, head right, wings open, Φ right; ex Leu Numismatik web auction 10 (7 Dec 2019), lot 618; rare; SOLD
Kyrene, Kyrenaika, N. Africa, c. 325 - 313 B.C.
Silphium, which is now extinct, was so critical to the Kyrenian economy that most of their coins depict it. The plant was used as a spice and to treat all kinds of maladies including cough, sore throat, fever, indigestion, pain, and warts. It was so widely used as a contraceptive that it was worth its weight in denarii. The traditional heart shape, the symbol of love, is probably derived from the shape of the silphium seed due to the use of silphium as an contraceptive.
"By the next day this maiden and all her girlish apparel had disappeared, and in the room were found images of the Dioscuri, a table, and silphium upon it." - Description of Greece, Pausanias 3.16.3, 2nd Century A.D.GB96101. Bronze AE 15, Asolati 12/2 (same dies); cf. Müller Afrique 228 ff.; Buttrey Cyrene I 12, SNG Cop 1226; BMC Cyrenaica p. 45, 198, VF, porosity, some corrosion, tight flan, weight 3.799 g, maximum diameter 15.4 mm, die axis 180o, Kyrene (near Shahhat, Libya) mint, 325 - 313 B.C.; obverse head of Apollo Carneius right, short curly hair, THP (magistrate) upward behind; reverse triple silphium plant, seen from above, K-Y-P around divided by members, all within a round incuse; rare; SOLD
Kyrene, Kyrenaica, North Africa, 435 - 313 B.C.
Unusual because Karneios is usually on the obverse and Kyrene on the reverse and Karneios head is usually right. BMC includes a similar coin from different dies, plate XV, no 10. Minted on the Attic standard.SH08863. Gold tenth-stater, BMC Cyrenaica 148 (pl XV, no 10) var., SNG Cop 1183 var, VF, weight .84 g, maximum diameter 7.7 mm, die axis 180o, obverse head of Kyrene right, diademed, hair in three large round buns, border of dots; reverse head of Karneios left with horn of Ammon, in round incuse; very rare; SOLD
Kyrene, Kyrenaika, N. Africa, c. 325 - 313 B.C.
Cyrene was an ancient Greek and later Roman city near present-day Shahhat, Libya. It was the oldest and most important of the five Greek cities in the region. It gave eastern Libya the classical name Cyrenaica that it has retained to modern times. Cyrene lies in a lush valley in the Jebel Akhdar uplands. The city was named after a spring, Kyre, which the Greeks consecrated to Apollo. It was also the seat of the Cyrenaics, a famous school of philosophy in the fourth century BC, founded by Aristippus, a disciple of Socrates.GB91338. Bronze AE 19, Asolati 18 var.; Buttrey Cyrene 139 var.; SNG Cop 1219 var.; BMC Cyrenaica p. 58, 277 - 278 var.; Müller Afrique 93 var. (all no caduceus/trident), gVF, very nice for the type, caduceus and trident not visible on other examples known to FORVM, light deposit, edge crack, weight 8.525 g, maximum diameter 18.6 mm, die axis 180o, Kyrene (near Shahhat, Libya) mint, c. 325 - 313 B.C.; obverse head of Ammon with horn and beard right, small caduceus before; reverse shield (or wheel?) with handle and six ribs, small trident to right, shallow incuse; very rare; SOLD
Kyrenaica, Kyrene, c. 300 - 280 B.C.
Silphium grew only in Kyrenaica and most coins of the region, including this one, depict it. The stalk was eaten as a vegetable. Parts of the plant were used to treat all kinds of maladies including cough, sore throat, fever, indigestion, pain, and warts. The fruit was considered both an aphrodisiac and a contraceptive, and was worth its weight in denarii. Unfortunately, we will never know if its medicinal properties were real or imagined because the plant became extinct in the first century A.D. It's said that Nero ate the last plant.SH70529. Silver didrachm, SNG Cop 1237; BMC Cyrenaica p. 52, 237; Müller Afrique 153, VF, obverse off-center, weight 7.352 g, maximum diameter 20.6 mm, die axis 0o, Kyrenaica mint, c. 300 - 280 B.C.; obverse horned head of Apollo Karneios left; reverse silphium plant, stars on each side, KY-PA flanking across, concave field; SOLD
Kyrene, Kyrenaica, c. 510 - 490 B.C.
The Valentine Coin! Silphium, which is now extinct, was so critical to the Kyrenian economy that most of their coins depict it. The plant was used as a spice and to treat all kinds of maladies including cough, sore throat, fever, indigestion, pain, and warts. It was so widely used as a contraceptive that it was worth its weight in denarii. The traditional "heart" shape, the symbol of love, is probably not actually derived from the shape of the heart; it is the shape of the silphium fruit or seed, due to its use as a contraceptive.GA111636. Silver hemiobol, cf. Buttrey Cyrene 53, SNG Cop -, BMC Cyrenaica -, VF, weight 0.337 g, maximum diameter 6.2 mm, Kyrene (near Shahhat, Libya) mint, c. 510 - 490 B.C.; obverse silphium fruit (or seed pod), in outline border, pedicel above; reverse shallow rectangular incuse; very rare; SOLD
Kyrene, Kyrenaica, c. 500 - 480 B.C.
The Valentine Coin! Silphium, which is now extinct, was so critical to the Kyrenian economy that most of their coins depict it. The plant was used as a spice and to treat all kinds of maladies including cough, sore throat, fever, indigestion, pain, and warts. It was so widely used as a contraceptive that it was worth its weight in denarii. The traditional "heart" shape, the symbol of love, is probably not actually derived from the shape of the heart; it is the shape of the silphium fruit or seed, due to its use as a contraceptive.GA111637. Silver drachm, BMC Cyrenaica 35, pl. V, 1; SNG Cop 1171 var. (pellets in corners of incuse); Buttrey Cyrene -, aVF, uneven toning, off center obv., porous, weight 2.712 g, maximum diameter 13.0 mm, die axis 270o, Kyrene (near Shahhat, Libya) mint, c. 500 - 480 B.C.; obverse silphium fruit, [pedicel above?], pellet below; reverse silphium fruit, pedicel above, pellet below, all within incuse square; very rare; SOLD
You are viewing a SOLD items page.
Click here to return to the page with AVAILABLE items.
The sale price for a sold item is the private information of the buyer and will not be provided.
REFERENCES|
Page created in 1.266 seconds.
