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Didrachm - Magas
| Issuer | Kyrene (Kyrenaica) |
|---|---|
| Year | 300 BC - 275 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Chian-Rhodian drachm |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Cyrene, Cyrenaica, Libya |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Magas served as governor of Kyrene under his half-brother Ptolemy I before declaring independence around 276 BC and styling himself king — a revolt that triggered open war with Egypt and fundamentally altered the political geography of North Africa. This issue almost certainly spans the transition, placing some strikes within the gubernatorial period and others within the breakaway monarchy itself. The exact moment of that political rupture is irrecoverable from the coins alone.
Kyrene's silver coinage drew on the city's extraordinary wealth from silphium, the now-extinct medicinal plant that was, for several centuries, the region's dominant export and effectively irreplaceable.