Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Tetradrachm
| Issuer | Kyrene (Kyrenaica) |
|---|---|
| Year | 485 BC - 475 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Hammered, Incuse |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Silphium plant rendered in high relief occupying the full field, its central stalk rising from a broad base and dividing into two pairs of lateral branches, each terminating in a rounded umbel or seed-head; a further umbel crowns the apex of the plant. Flanking the lower portion of the stalk are two characteristic heart-shaped silphium fruits, the plant's most economically prized product and the principal emblem of Kyrene. The composition is bold and stylised, reflecting the early archaic die-cutting tradition of Kyrenaican coinage. No legend or inscription appears on this face. The flan is broad and irregularly rounded, typical of the hammered silver coinage of this mint and period. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Bearded male head facing left in sharp left profile, identified as the ram-horned deity Ammon, rendered within a recessed incuse square that dominates the reverse field. The head displays a prominent curved ram's horn sweeping back from the brow and curling behind the ear, a defining attribute of Zeus-Ammon as worshipped at the oracle of Siwa and venerated throughout Kyrenaica. The facial features are vigorously modelled with a strong nose, parted lips, and a short beard, characteristic of the robust archaic style of Kyrenaican die engravers. The incuse square has clearly defined rectilinear borders pressed into the flan by the anvil die. No inscription is present. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | ND (485 BC - 475 BC) |
| Additional information | Log in to see details |