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Tetradrachm
| Issuer | Kyrene |
|---|---|
| Year | 570 BC - 525 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Tetradrachm (4) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Silphium plant depicted in high relief at the center of the field, rendered in a bold archaic style characteristic of early Cyrenean coinage. The plant is shown frontally, displaying its distinctive tripartite form: two upper heart-shaped seed pods flanking a central stem, above a lower bifurcated root or leaf element, all rendered with careful incised contour lines. The silphium, the prized medicinal and culinary export of Kyrene, serves as the primary civic emblem of this issue. The flan is irregularly shaped, as typical of hammered coinage of this period. No legend is present, consistent with the earliest archaic issues of the Cyrenean mint. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (570 BC - 525 BC) |
| Additional information |
Kyrene's early coinage was almost certainly tied to the silphium trade — the city-state held a near-monopoly on the plant, which commanded extraordinary prices across the Mediterranean world as a condiment, medicine, and contraceptive. Control of that export made Kyrene one of the wealthiest poleis in North Africa, and the resources to strike heavy silver tetradrachms reflected that position directly.
The Aiginetan weight standard used here places these issues firmly within the commercial networks of the eastern Mediterranean before Kyrene realigned toward Attic-weight coinage later in the fifth century.