Le monete di Cirene (ex "Quiz")

[apollonia]

Le stime sono le stesse dell’asta passata e i rispettivi realizzi sono riportati a lato.

Lot 129:                Estimate: 750 CHF                           Price realized: 3'200 CHF

Lot 130:                Estimate: 2'000 CHF                       Price realized: 6'500 CHF

 Lot 131:                Estimate: 750 CHF                           Price realized: 7'000 CH

 Lot 132:                Estimate: 750 CHF                           Price realized: 6'000 CHF

 Lot 133:                Estimate: 500 CHF                           Price realized: 3'400 CHF

 

[Matteo91]

Grazie @apollonia. 

Per completezza aggiungo che le monete di cui ai lotti 129-133 dell'asta LEU 3 sono le stesse già condivise al post #176.

[apollonia]

@Matteo91

Hai fatto bene a precisarlo perché non me n’ero accorto.

Rimane il fatto che tutti e cinque i lotti aggiudicati l’anno scorso sono ritornati in asta con la stessa stima, non credo per speculazione dati i prezzi che avevano realizzato.

Una spiegazione possibile è che un collezionista 'cirenaico' si sia aggiudicato le cinque monete e poi, vuoi perché non abbia potuto pagarle oppure voluto pagarle per qualche giustificato motivo, le abbia restituite al mittente.

Chissà quale sarà il destino di questa riedizione 2018.

 

[apollonia]

Nel frattempo possiamo dare uno sguardo a questo tetradramma con la raffigurazione frontale di Zeus Ammone, battuto alla Künker 243 nel 2013.

GRIECHISCHE MÜNZEN
CYRENAICA
BARKE. AR-Tetradrachme, 435/308 v. Chr., Magistrat Akesis; 13,09 g. Silphium//Kopf des Zeus Ammon v. v. BMC 32.
Von größter Seltenheit. Herrliche Patina, sehr schön Die griechische Kolonie Barke wird mit dem heutigen el Merdj, einer Stadt im nordöstlichen Libyen identifiziert.
Der Silphiumhandel machte die Cyrenaica reich - in Rom wurde Silphium mit Silber aufgewogen. Die Pflanze galt lange als ausgestorben, sie soll jedoch in Libyen wiederentdeckt worden sein. Siphium wurde sowohl als Gewürz als auch als Heilmittel verwendet. Über die Verwendung als Gewürz berichtet uns der Meisterkoch Apicius in seinem Werk "De re coquinaria". Das gegenüber dem kyrenäischen minderwertigere parthische Silphium (Ferula asafoetida) wird heute noch in der indischen Küche eingesetzt (unter der Bezeichnung "Hing", besonders bei Gerichten mit Hülsenfrüchten) - es hat einen intensiven, knoblauchartigen Geschmack. Der hohe Preis des Silphiums erklärt sich aber wohl hauptsächlich durch seine Verwendung als Verhütungsmittel (siehe Riddle, Coins and Contraceptives: The Plant that made Kyrene Famous, in: The Celator Vol. 17, 12 (2003), S. 34 f.). Eine pikante Anspielung darauf findet sich bei Catull (Carmina 7):

"Sagen soll ich, wie viele deiner Küsse,
Liebste Lesbia, mir genug sind und zuviel sind? -
So viel Körner Sandes die Libysche Wüste
In dem Silphiumtragenden Cyrene
Zwischen Ammons Orakel und des alten
Battus hochgeheiligtem Grabmal aufweist, (...)"

 

In chiusura della didascalia, un passo di Catullo che si può tradurre:  

“Chiedi quanti tuoi baci,

Lesbia, mi sian sufficienti e di più.

Quanto grande il numero di sabbia libica

giace nella Cirene produttrice di silfio

tra l'oracolo di Ammone e il sacro

sepolcro dell'antico Batto; (…)”

 

[apollonia]

Il tetradramma che richiama in didascalia il passo dei Carmina 7 di Catullo ha realizzato nel 2013 ben 85'000 EUR da stima 20'000 EUR.

E’ attribuito alla zecca di Barce, città della Libia in Cirenaica (od. Al Marj) fondata nel 6° sec. da coloni di Cirene. Sottoposta al dominio persiano e autonoma dal 5° sec., contrastò il predominio cartaginese sul mare. Fu espugnata da Alessandro Magno nel 331 a. C. e passò ai Tolomei d’Egitto e quindi ai Romani.

La datazione della moneta copre più di un secolo (435/308 a. C.) e sul rovescio si legge il nome del monetiere che ne ha curato l’emissione: AKE-SIS.

Ho notato che questo nome compare anche sui didrammi di Rodi datati a circa 229-205 a. C.

ISLANDS off CARIA, Rhodos. Rhodes. Circa 229-205 BC. AR Didrachm (21mm, 6.67 g, 12h). Akesis, magistrate. Radiate head of Helios facing slightly right / Rose with bud to right; to left, Apollo standing right holding lyre; AKE-ΣIΣ flanking stem. Ashton 222; HGC 6, 1440. VF, toned, minor flan flaw on obverse, a couple die breaks on reverse.

 

Monetiere molto longevo, se si tratta della stessa persona.

 

[apollonia]

Dramme di Cirene del tipo Pianta di silfio/Testa di Zeus Ammone: esemplare NAC 84.

Greek Coins 
Cyrene 
Drachm circa 480-435, AR 3.49 g. Silphium plant with four leaves. Rev. K – V – P A Head of Zeus Ammon r. inside a dotted circle; all within incuse square. SNG Copenhagen 1177. Boston 1313. 
Very rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. A wonderful portrait and a lovely old cabinet tone. Extremely fine.

Stimate: 6'000 CHF   |   Starting price: 4'800 CHF    Price realized: 5'500 CHF

 

[apollonia]

Dramme di Cirene del tipo Pianta di silfio/Testa di Zeus Ammone: esemplare Agora Auctions 74.

Kyrenacia, Kyrene. Civic issue. ca. 480-435 B.C. AR drachm (2.86 g). Sylphium plant / Zeus Ammon head right with large, curling horn within dotted border, all withiin quadrilateral incuse. SNG Cop. 1177; BMC S. XXXVIII 48e Taf.VI 12 . Near VF, Dark toning, somewhat porous.

Ex Gorny & Mosch.  Estimate: 500 USD.

 

[apollonia]

Dramme di Cirene del tipo Pianta di silfio/Testa di Zeus Ammone: esemplare in VCoins.

KYRENAIKA
Silver Drachm (2.86 gm.) Kyrene, c.480-435 B.C. 
Head of Zeus Ammon right inside a dotted circle; all within incuse square. 
KV-PA, silphium plant with four leaves.
Reference: SNG Cop. 1177 S. BMC XXXVIII 48e Taf. VI 12. Boston 1313.

Price US$ 1,950.00; € 1,708.13 (Rates for: 10/25/18). 

 

E’ l’esemplare dell’Agora Auctions 74 del 5 giugno 2018, lotto 49 (Stima: 500 USD. Realizzo: 461 USD) (v. post precedente) che risulta venduto in VCoins a 1.950 USD il 25 ottobre 2018.

Alla salute!

 

[apollonia]

Dramme di Cirene del tipo Pianta di silfio/Testa di Zeus Ammone: esemplare Triton XVIII.

KYRENAICA, Kyrene. Circa 480-435 BC. AR Drachm (14mm, 2.74 g, 3h). Silphion plant / Head of Karneios right; K-V/P-A flanking; all in dotted circle within incuse square. Buttrey, Coins 88–9 var. (letters outside circle); SNG Copenhagen 1177 var. (same); BMC 48 (same obv. die); Hunt IV 520 var. (same); Pozzi 3263 var. (same); Weber 8426. VF, dark find patina, a few minor pits. Very rare variety.
 

From the collection of the Money Museum, Zurich. Ex Leu 77 (11 May 2000), lot 401.

Triton XVIII, Lot: 794. Estimate $1000. Sold for $1800. 

 

[apollonia]

Esemplare Hess Divo 335 del 6 dicembre 2018.

GREEK COINS FROM THE ABOU TAAM FAMILY COLLECTION. CYRENAICA. EUHESPERIDES. Drachm, about 450 BC. AR 3.43 g. Silphium plant. Rev. E - Y - E - Σ Within dotted circle, bearded head r. of Zeus Ammon with rams horn; all within shallow incuse square. BMC 110,3 and pl. XXXVIII,7­8; SNG Cop. 1300.
Extremely rare. Nice old cabinet tone. Extremely fine.

 

Estimate: -   |   Starting price: 10'000 CHF

 

[apollonia]

Didramma con la pianta di silfio affiancata da un ramo di mele di Euesperide.

KYRENAICA, Euhesperides. Circa 290-280 BC. AR Didrachm (6.88 g, 12h). Horned head of Karneios right, with the features of Ptolemy I of Egypt / Silphium plant; BA-SI flanking; to left. apple branch of Euhesperides. Mørkholm, Cyrene pl. 2, 14; SNG Copenhagen Supp. 1331; BMC 260 (all from the same dies). Near EF, attractive gray toning with light golden hues, minor surface roughness, hairline flan crack. Rare.

From the Richard Winokur Collection.

This coin was struck during the period of Ptolemaic control over Kyrenaica, just prior to the revolt of Magas. Magas was Ptolemy I Soter’s son-in-law, and had been appointed governor around 300 BC. After Soter’s death, Magas had a falling-out with his half-brother, Ptolemy II Philadelphos, and eventually revolted against him, circa 280.

 

[apollonia]

Il nome di questa città portuale della Cirenaica ricorda i pomi delle Esperidi, i meravigliosi frutti d’oro la cui origine risale all'epoca delle nozze di Zeus e di Era, quando la Madre Terra fece nascere l'albero con quei frutti meravigliosi per farne dono ai due sommi numi come simbolo della fecondità e dell'amore.

In una versione della mitologia greca le Esperidi erano figlie di Atlante e di Esperide (stella della sera). Il loro numero è incerto, ma la tradizione mitologica ci tramanda una triade divina (Egle, Eritea ed Esperetusa; o Egle, Espere e Aretusa; o Lipara, Asterope e Crisotemi).

La leggenda delle Esperidi s'incontra per la prima volta nella Teogonia esiodea: al confine occidentale della terra, dove il giorno e la notte s'incontrano, in un'isola dell'Oceano vi è un giardino dove le Esperidi dall'amabile canto custodiscono i pomi d'oro insieme al terribile drago di nome Ladone. Nonostante la presenza del drago, la dea della discordia Eris riuscì a rubare una delle mele d'oro sulla quale incise la frase "Alla più bella", trasformandola nel cosiddetto pomo della discordia. Secondo il mito Eris, per vendicarsi del mancato invito alla festa in onore del matrimonio di Peleo e Teti, lanciò la mela sul tavolo dove si stava svolgendo il banchetto causando una lite furibonda tra Era, regina degli dei, Afrodite, dea della bellezza, e Atena, dea della saggezza. Le tre dee andarono da Zeus perché rispondesse alla domanda scritta sulla mela, ma lui si astenne dal pronunciare il giudizio su chi fosse la più bella. Fu chiesto allora il parere di Paride, principe di Troia, al quale, pur di ingraziarsene il giudizio, le tre dee promisero svariate ricompense: Atena gli promise che non avrebbe mai perso una guerra ed Era gli avrebbe invece conferito poteri immensi (secondo altre fonti invece gli offrì l'Asia minore). Paride scelse però come vincitrice Afrodite, che gli aveva promesso l'amore di Elena, la donna più bella della Terra. Sarà questa la causa scatenante della guerra di Troia.

 

[apollonia]

Il giardino delle Esperidi fu anche teatro dell'undicesima fatica di Eracle, nella quale doveva cogliere da un melo, dono di nozze della Madre Terra ad Era quando sposò Zeus, i preziosi pomi d’oro e portarli ad Euristeo. Il melo era custodito dalle ninfe Esperidi insieme al terribile drago Ladone, in un misterioso giardino alle pendici del Monte Atlante presso cui il gigante Atlante sosteneva sulle sue spalle il peso della volta celeste. Non sapendo in quale luogo si ergesse la mitica montagna, Eracle decise di rivolgersi alla profetica divinità marina Nereo, alla foce del fiume Eridano, in Illiria. Nereo cercò di resistere ad Eracle mutando continuamente forma, ma l’eroe lo tenne stretto tra sue forti mani fino a che egli non cedette, indicandogli la via. Passando per il Caucaso, Eracle liberò Prometeo, colui che aveva rubato il segreto del fuoco agli dei e che, per questo, subiva la punizione eterna di vedersi mangiare il fegato, sempre rinascente, da un avvoltoio. Prometeo, in segno di ringraziamento, gli consigliò di non cogliere personalmente i pomi ma di affidare tale operazione ad Atlante. Questi fu ben felice di entrare nel giardino e cogliere i pomi dopo che Eracle, aiutato da Atena, aveva preso il suo posto nel sostenere l’enorme peso del cielo. Al suo ritorno con i pomi, però, Atlante si rifiutò di riprendere il suo compito e si propose di andare personalmente a consegnare i frutti ad Euristeo. Eracle finse di acconsentire, purché il gigante reggesse la volta celeste solo per qualche minuto mentre l’eroe si fasciava il capo. Atlante ingenuamente acconsentì: posò i pomi per terra e recuperò l'ingente volta; ma rapido come il fulmine, il vigoroso eroe afferrò i pomi e fuggì portandoli ad Euristeo e compiendo l’impresa.

 

[apollonia]

Eracle e Atlante che sorreggono assieme il globo terrestre sono raffigurati sul rovescio di questa medaglia di Philipp Heinrich Müller per la nomina di Augusto II di Polonia a Principe Elettore di Sassonia.

PFALZ-BAYERN. Silbernes Medaillon 1711 von P.H. Müller (Augsburg). Der gekrönte und geharnischte Kurfürst mit Feldherrnstab nach rechts reitend / Atlas und Herkules tragen gemeinsam die Erdkugel. Slg. Memm. 2396, Slg. Kömmerling 362, Stemper 403, Forster 770, Slg. Erl. II, 2686. 65,8 mm, 144,78 g
sehr seltenes Prachtexemplar mit feiner Patina, vorzüglich-Stempelglanz

https://www.sixbid.com/browse.html?auction=3492&category=74020&lot=2912362

 

[apollonia]

Rarissimo bronzo di Euesperide, dal diritto modellato sui tetradrammi di Alessandro coniati a Pella (CNG 272).

Very Rare Euesperides Bronze
Obverse Modelled on Pella Mint Tetradrachms of Alexander

KYRENAICA, Euesperides. Circa 325-313 BC. Æ (22mm, 14.32 g, 6h). Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Bow, club, and quiver. Buttrey, Coins 730, see also Appendix p. 59, pl. 12, E16 var. (bow and quiver switched; same obv. die). Near VF, brown and green patina. Very rare.

As noted by Buttrey (p. 54 and 59), the head of Herakles is derived from Pella mint tetradrachms of Alexander struck circa 325 BC, which serves a terminus post quem for the bronze coinage of the city.

 

[apollonia]

Bronzo simile al precedente

KYRENAICA, Euesperides. Circa 325-313 BC. Æ (24mm, 13.36 g, 12h). Head of Herakles right, wearing lion skin / Bow, club, and quiver. Buttrey, Coins 730 var. (bow and quiver switched) and Appendix p. 59, pl. 12, E16 (same obv. die). Fine, brown surfaces, heavy cleaning scratches. Very rare.

As noted by Buttrey (p. 54 and 59), the head of Herakles is derived from Pella mint tetradrachms of Alexander struck circa 325 BC, which serves as a terminus post quem for the bronze coinage of the city.

 

[apollonia]

Torniamo a Cirene con questo rarissimo ed eccezionale tetradramma della prossima Leu 4.

A very rare and exceptional tetradrachm from Kyrene
KYRENAICA. Kyrene. Circa 435-331 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 28 mm, 13.05 g, 12 h), Asiatic standard, Libystratos, magistrate. Bearded head of Zeus Ammon to left, wearing a diadem from which rises an uraeus-like ornament, and ram's horn over his ear; behind, laurel spray with two leaves. Rev. ΛΙBYΣ - TPATOΣ Silphium plant with two pair of leaves and fruits, and with two small silphium sprigs growing out of the stem below. BMC 162, pl. XV, 34 (same obverse die) and pl. XV, 33 (same reverse die). Gulbenkian 573 (same dies). SNG Copenhagen 1190 (same dies). Very rare. A beautifully toned and superb coin, with a particularly noble and serene head of Zeus Ammon and a wonderful rendering of the famous silphium plant on the reverse. Good very fine.

From an old Viennese collection, formed in the 1950s and 1960s and in 3rd generation family possession since.

Kyrene and its neighboring cities gained their fabulous wealth not least from the export of the silphium plant, which grew wild in the Kyrenaika and was used both for medical purposes and eaten as a vegetable. Growing demand and the over-cultivation of the hinterland eventually led to the extinction of the wild plant, whose appearance we only know from coins, by the 1st century AD. The dies used for this wonderful tetradrachm were cut by a master engraver and are among the finest in the whole Kyrenaikan series: the head of Zeus Ammon is of a beauty and serenity that is truly remarkable, and the wonderful reverse ranks among the most detailed renderings of the silphium plant we have.

 

Per la cronaca, lo Starting price è 15'000 CHF.

[apollonia]

Il 5/5/2019 alle 19:40, apollonia dice:

Torniamo a Cirene con questo rarissimo ed eccezionale tetradramma della prossima Leu 4.

A very rare and exceptional tetradrachm from Kyrene
KYRENAICA. Kyrene. Circa 435-331 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 28 mm, 13.05 g, 12 h), Asiatic standard, Libystratos, magistrate. Bearded head of Zeus Ammon to left, wearing a diadem from which rises an uraeus-like ornament, and ram's horn over his ear; behind, laurel spray with two leaves. Rev. ΛΙBYΣ - TPATOΣ Silphium plant with two pair of leaves and fruits, and with two small silphium sprigs growing out of the stem below. BMC 162, pl. XV, 34 (same obverse die) and pl. XV, 33 (same reverse die). Gulbenkian 573 (same dies). SNG Copenhagen 1190 (same dies). Very rare. A beautifully toned and superb coin, with a particularly noble and serene head of Zeus Ammon and a wonderful rendering of the famous silphium plant on the reverse. Good very fine.

From an old Viennese collection, formed in the 1950s and 1960s and in 3rd generation family possession since.

Kyrene and its neighboring cities gained their fabulous wealth not least from the export of the silphium plant, which grew wild in the Kyrenaika and was used both for medical purposes and eaten as a vegetable. Growing demand and the over-cultivation of the hinterland eventually led to the extinction of the wild plant, whose appearance we only know from coins, by the 1st century AD. The dies used for this wonderful tetradrachm were cut by a master engraver and are among the finest in the whole Kyrenaikan series: the head of Zeus Ammon is of a beauty and serenity that is truly remarkable, and the wonderful reverse ranks among the most detailed renderings of the silphium plant we have.

 

Per la cronaca, lo Starting price è 15'000 CHF.

Il Result è 22'000 CHF (ca. 20'000 EUR).

apollonia

[apollonia]

Bronzo di Cirene con albero di palma, silfio e granchio (CNG The Coin Shop).

KYRENAICA, Kyrene. 4th century BC. Æ 17mm (5.13 g, 12h). Diademed head of Zeus-Ammon right / K-Y, palm-tree with fruit; PA to lower left, silphium plant and crab to lower right. BMC 298; SNG Copenhagen 1259. Good VF, dark brown patina, brick-red highlights.

[apollonia]

Dramme di Cirene del tipo Pianta di silfio/Testa di Zeus Ammone: esemplare NAC 110.

Greek coins
Cyrene. Tetradrachm circa 485-475, AR 17.36 g. Silphium plant with two pairs of leaves and three umbels; at sides, fruit. Rev. Bearded and horned head of Ammon l., within incuse square. Asyut 842 (this coin, attributed to Barce). SNG Copenhagen –. Buttrey, The Coins from the Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone, 72 (these dies).Very rare and in good condition for this difficult issue. Struck on unusually fresh metal and of excellent Archaic style. Light old cabinet tone and good very fine Ex Leu 28, 1981, 225 and Künker 94, 2004, 1587 sales. From the Asyut hoard. This coin was attributed by the authors of the Asyut Hoard to the mint of Barce. Nevertheless, a later publication by the late Professor Theodore V. Buttrey assigns this issue with convincing arguments to the mint of Cyrene. The city of Cyrene was founded in North Africa by Greek colonists from Thera in 631 B.C. They were driven to leave their original island home by a famine that had gripped Thera for seven years and the advice of the Delphic Oracle, which promised that their fortunes would improve if they founded a city in Libya. The colonists were led by a certain Battos and made an initial attempt to settle on the island of Plataia off the coast of Libya, but after two years and further direction from Delphi, they moved to the mainland and settled at Aziris. After six more years at this settlement, the native Libyans showed Battos a site further inland that was thought to be more suitable for Greek agriculture as it was said to be located beneath a ”hole in the sky.” This peculiar remark recorded by Herodotos is thought to refer to greater rainfall in the region than elsewhere in Libya. The new site proved to be surrounded by rich farmland and was settled as the city of Cyrene. Battos became the first in a line of Cyrenean kings that survived until the mid-fifth century B.C., when the city adopted a republican constitution. Cyrene grew wealthy from involvement in the Mediterranean grain trade and trade with neighbouring Egypt. Riches also accrued to the city through its export of silphium (possibly an extinct giant fennel), a plant widely used in antiquity for seasoning and medicinal properties. Silphium, which grew only on a narrow coastal strip of Cyrenaica, was supposed to be a good cure for a cough, sore throat, fever, indigestion, general aches and pains, and even madness. However, it has been suggested that the plant may have been most desired for its use as a contraceptive. Excessive demand, overharvesting, and the encroachment of grazing animals may have led to the extinction of silphium in the first century A.D. Pliny the Elder recalls that the last known stalk of silphium was sent to Nero (A.D. 54-68) as a curiosity. The rarity and value of silphium, together with its uniqueness to Cyrene made it a popular emblem for the city’s coins as early as the sixth century B.C. On the present tetradrachm the plant is shown with its heart-shaped fruit next to it. It has been suggested that the fruit of the silphium plant may lie behind the familiar traditional heart shape, which of course bears little resemblance to the real organ. In addition to silphium, Cyrene was famous for its connection to the oracular shrine of Zeus Ammon at the Oasis of Siwah. This god was really a local Libyan deity identified with the important Egyptian fertility god, Ammon. The Greeks in turn re-imagined him as a form of their own supreme deity, Zeus, with the addition of ram’s horns as a distinguishing feature since Ammon was regularly associated with the ram as a symbol of fecundity. A wonderfully archaic rendering of Zeus-Ammon appears on the reverse of the present tetradrachm, illustrating the early date at which the oracle and its Libyan deity became associated with Cyrene. The oracular responses of Zeus Ammon were much desired and were sought out by a number of ancient rulers, most notably the Lydian king, Croesus (560-546 B.C.), and Alexander the Great (336-323 B.C.). Croesus reportedly consulted the oracle in order to decide whether he should go to war against the Persians, while Alexander visited in person in 331 B.C. It is unknown what the Macedonian conqueror asked, but after he was greeted as ”son of Ammon” in accord with status as Pharaoh of Egypt, he began to style himself as a son of Zeus among his Macedonian and Greek troops.

 

Starting price: 10.000 CHF - Estimate: 12.500 CHF - Result: 19.000 CHF

AUCTION 110 - LOT 121 - Date:24 Sep 2018

[apollonia]

Tetradramma di Barke della Nomos 19

Starting price: 12.000 CHF

Estimate: 15.000 CHF

Result: 60.000 CHF

 

Lot 226. KYRENAICA. Barke in alliance with Teuchira. Circa 480-435 BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 25 mm, 17.40 g, 2 h). Τ Silphium plant with two pairs of leaves and five umbels. Rev. ΒΑΡΚ (retrograde) Bearded head of Zeus-Ammon to right, with ram's horn over his ear; behind his neck to left, Τ; all within a border formed by two linear circles enclosing a circle of elongated dots. Cf. BMC 60e (Berlin). Extremely rare and of truly splendid early Classical style. A bright, attractive example, with an obverse legend sufficiently clear to ensure its attribution as an alliance issue. Only paralleled by the badly corroded piece in Berlin, BMC 60e. Sharply struck and clear. Extremely fine.

 

[Matteo91]

Risultato notevole! @apollonia

[apollonia]

NAC 116, lot 218 - Estimate: CHF 250’000 Realized: CHF 290’000

Descrizione

Cyrenaica, Barce
Tetradrachm, magistrate Akesios circa 360, AR 12.64 g. B – A / P – K / A – I Silphium plant. Rev. AKE – ΣIOΣ Facing head of Zeus Ammon, with his eyes wide-open and his hair flowing behind him on each side. BMC 32 and pl. 36, 8 (this obverse die) and p. clxxvii, 32 and pl. 47, 8 (this reverse die). Traité 270. Jameson 2137. ACGC 1076. cf. New York sale XXVII, 2012, Prospero, 629 (this obverse die).
Very rare and possibly the finest coin of Cyrenaica in existence. A portrait of enchanting
beauty, the work of a very talented master engraver, perfectly struck and centred on a full
flan. Lovely old cabinet tone. Weakly struck on obverse, otherwise extremely fine

Ex Leu 22, 1979, 180 (illustrated on the cover page) and DNW A11, 2011, 2017 sales.
The types of this tetradrachm celebrate the two most famous exports of Cyrenaica: the cult of Zeus Ammon and the silphium plant. The latter is thought to have been an extinct variety of giant fennel and was used in antiquity for seasoning and medicine. Silphium grew only on a narrow coastal strip of the Cyrenaica and was used as a cure for a variety of ailments including cough, sore throat, fever, indigestion, general aches and pains, and even insanity. However, it has been suggested that the plant may have been most desired for its use as a contraceptive. Overharvesting and excessive demand led to the extinction of the plant in the first century AD—the last stalk of silphium was reportedly sent to Nero (AD 54-68). Zeus Ammon had an important oracular shrine at the Oasis of Siwah that was catapulted to fame when Alexander the Great made a visit and was hailed as son of the god. Zeus Ammon was essentially a native Libyan deity syncretized with both the Egyptian fertility god Amun and Greek Zeus. He is regularly distinguished from other forms of Zeus by his ram’s horns—a feature borrowed from the iconography of Egyptian Amun. The facing depiction of Zeus Ammon on the present tetradrachm is brilliant in its execution and wonderfully preserved. The deep staring eyes of Zeus Ammon seem to beckon the viewer to come closer and ask a question for the oracular god to answer.

[apollonia]

Leu Numismatik, Web Auction 4, lot 453, 24.06.2018

Greek
KYRENAICA. Kyrene. Magas, as Ptolemaic Governor , circa 308-305 BC. AE (Bronze, 16 mm, 6.03 g, 2 h). Gazelle standing right; to right, [jerboa]. Rev. Silphium plant with fruits. BMC 281. SNG Copenhagen 1248. Very rare. The obverse weakly struck and somewhat off center, otherwise, very fine.

Stando alla didascalia, sul diritto a destra dovrebbe esserci anche uno jerboa (topo del deserto).

 

[apollonia]

In un post precedente si è già parlato del Gerboa, un piccolo ratto bipede diffuso principalmente in Africa e Medioriente che a volte viene raffigurato sulle monete di Cirene accanto alla pianta di silfio.