The coin I'm sharing today is another bronze of the Ptolemaic kingdom, but unlike the last one that I shared which was minted in Alexandria, Egypt, this one was minted in the town of Kyrene in modern-day Libya. The obverse features Ptolemy I, founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty. It's thought that these were minted well after the reign of Ptolemy I, however the Ptolemies who came after so revered the founder of their kingdom that they continued to use his image on various coins and so you see him on their later tetradrachms as well. The reverse features Libya, the goddess who personified the land of Libya in Greek and Roman mythology. Kyrene, the town this coin was minted in, was an important town in Greek and Roman times, and was known for many things, and I think one of the most intriguing of these is for the plant that was its main export in antiquity: silphium. Silphium was a plant that was used as birth control by the Greeks and Romans and was so important that it even shows up on some coins from the region(sadly not this one, though). Unfortunately, the ancients could not figure out how to cultivate it and could only harvest wild silphium and their demand for it lead to the plant's extinction, so today we don't even know exactly what the plant was or how it worked. The extinction of silphium caused a dramatic reduction in the city's trade and by the 4th century AD the economic decline combined with natural disasters lead to the desertion of the city. Ptolemaic Kingdom, Ptolemy III, Euergetes, 246-222 BC AE22(7.18g). Kyrene, Libya mint. Diademed head of Ptolemy I right/BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΠTOΛEMAIOY, Head of Libya right, hair bound with tania, small cornucopia below chin. Svoronos 871 Note: the attributions on these are somewhat imprecise, so attributing them to Ptolemy III is only an approximation based on a general time period given by hoard evidence, though I wouldn't be surprised if Lorber's forthcoming work brings a more precise attribution.
My only Kyrene... Africa Kyrencia, Kyrene AR Didrachm (Stater/Nomos) s. 308-277 BC 19.4 mm x 7.62 grams Obverse: Karneios, horned head right. Reverse: Extinct Silphium plant, KY-PA in fields. Ref: SGCV 6319, BMC 52 Note: Rare, Nicely centered, VF
One of these days I really want to get one of these with a silphium plant on it. Such interesting history there.
Great piece and write up . I never heard of the silphium plant . It's very interesting and makes me wonder what other natural wonders man has destroyed .
Wonderful coins, @red_spork and @Ancientnoob! Ptolemaic coins from Kyrene are "on the list" I have only one example from Kyrenaika, a tragically and clumsily cleaned little silver rarity. KYRENAIKA, Barke 480-450 BCE AR hemidrachm, 13 mm, 1.57 gm Obv: silphium plant Rev: head of Zeus Ammon right within linear frame, B A P K around Ref: Müller MAA 301. Very rare. Additional information about the silphium plant, copied from my first posting of this coin: Theophrastus (371-287 BC), mentions silphium several times in Historia Plantarum: "In the Cyrenaica the cypress grows and the olives are fairest and the oil most abundant. Most special of all to this district is the silphium..." He goes on to describe the physical characteristics and plant product preparation here and in the next three pages, noting that it grows wild and disappears upon cultivation of the land (although he further documents contradicting agricultural anecdotes). The plant appears to relatively new, or at least newly discovered: "The people of Cyrene say that the silphium appeared seven years before they founded their city; now they had lived there for about three hundred years before the archonship at Athens at Simonides." Other online references mention legends that silphium was viewed as a "gift from Apollo". An article by Henry Koerper and A.L. Kolls, "The Silphium Motif Adorning Ancient Libyan Coinage: Marketing a Medicinal Plant" had many interesting tidbits. It is available for downloading for $39.95 but you can get a free 5 minute peek (and that was enough time to screen cap the whole thing for more leisurely reading ) In addition to use as a food, the list of purported medicinal applications of silphium is long: oral contraceptive and abortifacient treatment for abdominal pain treatment for alopecia treatment for anal exrescences and prolapse antidote for the poison of weapons, scorpion stings, snake bites treatment of asthma, bronchitis, coughs, horseness treatment of dog bites treatment of bruises and wounds (external application) a calefacient (warming) medicine treatment for carbuncles, chillblains, callosities, and indurations treatment of cardiac diseases treatment for coeliacus treatment of convulsions corn and wart removal promotion of digestion as a diuretic treatment of dropsy, jaundice, and other visceral affections including intestinal wounds treatment of epilepsy treatment of eye diseases for gynecological problems (menstrual problems) treatment for intestinal worms as a liniment for lumbago and sciatica treatment of mange treatment of nervous disorders treatment of opisthotonus pain prevention treatment of pleurisy treatment of quartran fever (malaria?) treatment of shivering treatment of sinew affections (tendonitis?) treatment of stomach colds (??) treatment for tetanus treatment for toothache treatment for ulcers treatment for inflammation of the uvula as a vaginal suppository (for menstrual disorders?) a veterinary medicine for sheep Why did it become extinct? Speculative, but multifactoral: overharvesting due to exploitation of medicinal and veterinary uses. (Betcha it was really due to its reported aphrodisiacal qualities; some behaviors never change.) Pliny the Elder supposedly said that in Roman markets, silphium was worth its weight in silver denari. I could not find such a quote in Pliny's writings on silphium. However, he does mention that it supposedly acts as a soporific for sheep. Goats, not so much. They just go into fits of sneezing. [note to self: if I bring back silphium à la Jurassic Park, and if I decide to raise goats, keep them away from the silphium.] Map showing the location of Barce/Barke, from the article by Koerper:
why were they trying to put their sheep to sleep? actually,....i don't want to know. a coin with silphium is on the list! that's a great ptolemy bronze RS! i assume it's nice and fat (and phat) like the usual types. what's the size and weight?
This Ptolemy was minted in Cyprus PTOLEMY VI AE20 OBVERSE: Diademed head of Zeus-Ammon right REVERSE: ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ, two eagles standing left on thunderbolt; cornucopiae before Struck at CYPRUS 180-176 BC 6.11g, 20mm Svoronos 1426, SNG Cop 315
Sweet coin, red_spork!! (fantastic eye-appeal) ... I don't think I have any examples from Kyrene? (I'll go check)
Ab his proximum dicetur auctoritate clarissimum laserpicium, quod Graeci silphion vocant, in Cyrenaica provincia repertum, cuius sucum laser vocant, magnificum in usu medicamentisque et ad pondus argentei denarii repensum. -Pliny the Elder, Natural History, XIX.XV Translations vary: "Next after these we will speak about laserwort, a Silphium, a remarkably important plant, the Greek name for which is silphium; it was originally found in the province of Cyrenaica. Its juice is called laser, and it takes an important place in general use and among drugs, and is sold for its weight in silver denarii..." -Pliny the Elder, Natural History, XIX.XV LASERPITIUM, LASER, AND MASPETUM. Next to these, laserpitium claims our notice, a very remarkable plant, known to the Greeks by the name of "silphion," and originally a native of the province of Cyrenaica. The juice of this plant is called "laser," and it is greatly in vogue for medicinal as well as other purposes, being sold at the same rate as silver. -Pliny the Elder, Natural History, XIX.XV
Thanks @Bing - that coin and this one give me a good excuse to revive a 8/9 year old thread Still Ptolemy III in latest Lorber volumes.
