KYRENAICA. Kyrene. Circa late 4th to early 3rd century BC. Tessera (Lead, 16 mm, 4.70 g, 12 h). Eagle with closed wings standing right on thunderbolt. Rev. Silphion plant with three pair of leaves and fruits. Cf. Leu Web Auction 38 (2025), 1033 (similar type, but as a seal). Apparently unpublished as a tessera. Very fine.


For a close parallel, see Leu Web Auction 38 (2025), lot 1033. That specimen is a seal, as indicated by the perforation at the edge, whereas the example offered here appears to be a tessera. Moreover, the thunderbolt-bundle visible on the tessera is not discernible on the seal, owing to off-centering and wear, though it was presumably present there as well. The series is best dated to the late fourth or early third century BC, combining the royal Ptolemaic eagle with Cyrene’s civic emblem, the renowned silphion plant.