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Tetradrachm
| Issuer | Barke |
|---|---|
| Year | 440 BC - 420 BC |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Silphium plant depicted frontally in the field, its characteristic branching stem rising from a broad base with two pairs of curved branches extending laterally, each terminating in leafy sprigs and rounded seed pods or fruit. A single round fruit or bud crowns the apex of the central stalk. The design is boldly rendered in relief with fluid, naturalistic lines, filling the flan and reflecting the celebrated importance of silphium as the primary economic resource of the Cyrenaican region. |
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| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Barke — modern Al-Marj in Libya — was one of the six cities of the Cyrenaican Pentapolis, founded as a Cyrenaean colony in the early sixth century BC and later caught repeatedly between Cyrene, the Persians, and eventually Ptolemaic Egypt. Its autonomous coinage is rare precisely because the city's independent political life was so frequently interrupted. The tetradrachms attributable to this mint survive in very small numbers across major collections.