So, many of you probably have coins depicting Silphium. It's one of the great mysteries of the ancient world. Many of you may know the history of Silphium, it's uses, economy, and significance in the ancient world. One of my Favorite youtube channels is called "Tasting History." The guy goes back to the very ancient cookbooks of Greece, Rome, etc, and cooks historically informed dishes. He explores ingredients and methods that have been lost for thousands of years. His most recent episode, however, crosses over into numismatics. Many, many coins display the silphium (and he shows a couple in the video). Give it a watch, and tell me what you think! Post your coins with Silphium, and lets see what the ancients thought of the stuff!
..since they ate it to extinction, i'd say it was high on their list...i don't have any coins of it to my knowledge..
SILPHIUM - Yum! KYRENAICA Kyrene Æ25 9.6g 250 BCE Diademed Zeus-Ammon r - K-O-I-N-O-N; Silphium plant; monogram SNG Cop 1278 BMC 16-19
I'll bet that it is not extinct, that somewhere in the mountains of North Africa the plant still grows but that the local population is unaware of it. Face it. If it grew in an abandoned parking lot in the Bronx, who would know it?
Hi All, Sorry for a long post, but I have a few I'd like to share. Æ Quarter Unit Size: 17 mm Weight: 4.32 g Axis: 0 OBV: Ammon head diademed, facing right. No border visible. REV: Palm tree. Legend: Κ - Υ over ΡΑ in left field. In right field: silphion plant and cornucopia. No border visible. References: Asolati (2011) 61Ba; CPE-Unlisted (comes after CPE-B0342) Provenance: Ex Den of Antiquity (Cambridge UK), via eBay Lorber's Coins of the Ptolemaic Empire (CPE) does not count this type as Ptolemaic, so it is not listed. Some background from CPE: "The dates of Magas' revolt are unknown, but his defection may have been triggered by the accession of Ptolemy II, see F Chamoux (1956). During his years of independence Magas probably struck coinage of traditional Cyrenean character. For the bronzes, see Buttrey (1997), p 37 and Asolati (2011), nos 43-51, with the types Ammon/arms, Libya/silphium, Apollo / cithara, Apollo / horse, horseman / silphium, gazelle / silphium, and Ammon/palm tree. For the precious metal coinage, see L Naville (1951), p 84. Ptolemy’s name and portrait are notably absent from this coinage, yet Magas did not claim credit as its issuing authority." Æ Obol, KOINON of Cyrenaica Size: 22x23 mm Weight: 8.17 g Axis: 0 References: Asolati (2011) 61Ba; cf. SNG Copenhagen 1278-9; BMC 29.080, #030-031, pl xxx, 12, Group I; CPE-Unlisted (Comes after CPE-B0353) Provenance: Ex SAvoca Coins (Munich, Germany), 7th Blue Auction, Lot #564 KOINON of Cyrenaica The KOINON was the federal reorganization of Cyrenaica under Ecdemus and Demophanes the Megalopolitian philosophers in ca 250 BCE. It was a federation of five cities which came to be known as the Libyan pentapolis. The first literary reference to this federation is in the first century AD (in the works of Pliny), when the component cities were Cyrene, Apollonia, Ptolemais, Taucheira/Arsinoë and Berenice. This federation was short-lived and ended sometime in 240s BCE, when Ptolemy III (Euergetes I) married Berenice and reunited Kyrene to Egyptian rule. Bagnall (1976): After the death of Magas a period of political confusion ensued for several years. A koinon of the Cyrenaica appears to have flourished briefly, and it issued a silver didrachm of Rhodian standard together with a series of bronzes. The only legend on these coins is KOINON except for one bearing a moneyer's monogram. The issues of the Cyrenaic koinon are the last autonomous coins of Cyrene. Æ Obol, KOINON of Cyrenaica Size: 21x2 3mm Weight: 7.81 g OBV: Zeus Ammon diademmed head facing right (upside down partial face of Ptolemy I visible). Dotted border; overstruck die features of Ptolemy I Soter clearly visible and prominent on obverse. Dotted border. REV: Libya facing right, double cornucopia (oriented to right) under Libya’s chin.Legend/Dotted border not visible. Note: KOINON type overstruck on CPE-B354; Svoronos 855, pl xxxiv, 3-6; BMC Cyrenaica Group I, p. 80, 30–31, pl xxx, 12; Asolati (2011), 60. Provenance: Ex Aegean Numismatics (his images here) In describing the Ptolemaic coin CPE-B354, Lorber writes "The types of the Soter/Libya bronzes advertise the reunion of Egypt and Cyrenaica. The earliest issues were struck on flans that differed from those of Magas. The edges are, with a few exceptions, bevelled in the Alexandrian manner, yet the planchets lack the central cavities introduced at Alexandria in the reform of the 260s. These first Soter/Libya bronzes were overstruck by types bearing the legend KOINON, which must belong to the brief period of Cyrenean autonomy that fell sometime between the death of Magas and the accession of Ptolemy III. The Alexandrian fabric with central cavities first appears on Soter/Libya bronzes struck after the koinon coinage. It follows that the early Soter/Libya bronzes - those without central cavities - must be attributed to a presumed period of sovereignty of Ptolemy II at some point after the death of Magas but before the Cyrenean koinon. For the arguments in detail, see Buttrey (1997), pp. 38–41." Æ Quadrans of M Licinius Crassus (Magistrate) ca 37 BCE Size: 16x17 mm Weight: 2.91 g Axis: 6:00 References: RPC-I 0918 (Coin #14); This type was unknown to Svoronos; BMC-0026, pl XLII & BMC-0026a-b, p ccvii, Asolati 149a-b; SNG Copenhagen 1312 to 1313; Müller, Afrique - Unlisted NOTE: This is Coin #14 of RPC I-918 Online, presently the plate coin at https://rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/1/918 [as of 05 Nov 2020]. A similar coin sold by CNG is here. Provenance: International seller via eBay. The Crassus in named on this coin cannot be the wealthy triumvirate colleague of Julius Caesar and Pompey, who died in 53 BCE, long before this coinage. This Crassus is almost certainly his grandson, Marcus Licinius Crassus the Younger. He fought with Sextus Pompey but transferred his loyalty to Marc Antony in c. 36 BCE. Under Mark Antony he was responsible for Crete and Cyrene. Shortly before Actium, Crassus defected to Octavian. He was consul in 30 BCE, triumphed in 27 BCE. From TV Buttrey (Studies in Numismatic Method Presented to Philip Grierson): "The mints of Crassus - The coins of Crassus, like those of Lollius, were struck in both Greek and Latin series, but not in paired denominations as far as is now known (pl 6, nos 31-35). Nor were the dies cut centrally, as is shown by the differing styles of the Latin Apollo and the Greek Libya and crude Tyche. In manufacture the two series of Units are so distinct that their weight ranges barely overlap. Robinson (BMCCyr, ccxxi) properly assigns the Latin series to Crete, the Greek to the Cyrenaica, where however Crassus used two mints, Ptolemais and Cyrene, the only official of Roman times who appears to have done so. The Tyche Unit bears the inscription ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙ. Robinson knew no inscription for the rare Libya Unit (BMCCyr, ccvii, no 2.5 bis b = Svoronos, Ptolemaion, no 1902) but an example preserved in the office of the Director of Antiquities, Cyrene, can be read: (K) Y (P) A to l and r of head. The Libya Quarter-unit also reads KYPA. Crassus' mints, therefore, struck distinctive types, and the Libya head appears to have been thought of as appropriate to the mint of Cyrene." - Broucheion
This post reminded me that I have a Silphium plant depicted on a coin in my non collection tray KYRENAICA, Koinon. Circa 250-246 BC. Æ (25mm, 12.75 g, 12h). Obverse: Head of Zeus-Ammon right, wearing tainia. Reverse: Silphium plant; KOI-NON across fields. References: Asolati 61C; SNG Copenhagen 1280; BMC 22–9.
Kyrenaica. Kyrene, circa 305-300 BC. AR Didrachm (21mm, 7.69g, 12h). Obv: Head of Zeus Karneios left. Rev: Silphium plant; monogram to left, star to right. Ref: SNG Cop 1238; BMC 238. Ex Stacks.
Mine is alittle later than Edessa's Kyrenaika, Kyrene AR Didrachm. Koinon issue, circa 250 BC. Diademed head of Zeus Ammon right / Silphium plant with four leaves; ibex horn in upper left field, KOI-NON across fields. BMC 1; SNG Copenhagen 1275.sear 6332 7.81g, 21mm, 12h.
Interesting - in the details on the coins, I can readily see the giant fennel connection. Another interesting article on this ingredient here from the BBC. The video clearly describes the connection to this "remedy":
FYI, The 2004 thesis "The Silphium plant: Analysis of ancient sources" by Valentina Asciutti is available at https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/6116663.pdf . - Broucheion
