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Didrachm - Magas
| Issuer | Kyrene (Kyrenaica) |
|---|---|
| Year | 300 BC - 275 BC |
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| Currency | Chian-Rhodian drachm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Centrally placed silphium plant in full composition, depicted with its characteristic bulbous seed-head at the apex, ribbed stalk, and spreading lateral branches bearing clusters of fruit or flowers, all rising from a shallow bowl or calyx at the base. The silphium, the emblematic plant of Cyrene and the source of the city's legendary wealth, is rendered with careful botanical detail. A six-pointed star appears to the left of the plant in the field. The Greek legend KYPA is distributed around the central device in the field, with KY to the lower left and PA to the lower right, abbreviated form of KYRANAION. |
| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Magas served as governor of Kyrene under the Ptolemaic crown before declaring himself king around 276 BC — a rebellion against his half-brother Ptolemy II that triggered a prolonged but ultimately inconclusive war. This didrachm falls within that contested transition, struck by an administration increasingly asserting independence from Alexandria while still operating within a monetary tradition shaped by Ptolemaic weight standards. The city's silver coinage had long benefited from the enormous wealth generated by silphium exports, the plant's near-monopoly making Kyrene one of the wealthiest poleis in the Mediterranean world.