KYRENAICA. Kyrene. Circa late 4th to early 3rd century BC. Seal (Lead, 18 mm, 5.41 g, 12 h). Eagle with closed wings standing right; in fields, traces of letters (?). Rev. Silphion plant with three pair of leaves and fruits; to left, uncertain letter (B?). Apparently unpublished and of great interest. Somewhat rough, otherwise, very fine.



This fascinating seal can be securely attributed to Kyrenaica. Featuring a highly detailed rendering of the silphion plant, it recalls the splendid civic tetradrachms of the 4th century BC. The eagle, however, points to Ptolemaic rule, suggesting a date in the late 4th or early 3rd century BC. Such a combination of royal eagle and civic emblem is otherwise unknown on coinage and probably reflects an administrative function, the king of the skies symbolizing the pharaoh’s authority and the healing plant that of the polis.