Didrachm - Magas

Magas served as governor of Kyrene under his half-brother Ptolemy I before declaring independence around 276 BC and styling himself king — a move that triggered a prolonged war with Egypt. This didrachm falls within that transitional period, issued from one of antiquity's wealthiest cities, whose control of silphium exports had made Kyrene an economic power entirely disproportionate to its size. The silphium trade was conducted in silver, and the Kyrenaican mint produced to meet that demand.