Apollonia, Cyrenaica (Magas Reign)

[B]Apollonia, Cyrenaica (Magas Reign; 308-277 BC.) AE 18[/B] [u]Obv[/u]: Diademed head of Zeus Ammon, hair in shaggy locks covering the neck, short beard, facing right. [u]Rev[/u]: Date palm tree with fruit; KY-PA legend split on either side of tree; silphium plant with terminal umbel in lower left field; crab in lower right field. [u]Attribution[/u]: SNG Cop.1259; BMC Cyrenaica 293,Pl.XXVI,2; Muller 267 [u]Provenance[/u]: ex. Aerugo (#8430903639), 6.18.06; ex. Dmitry Markov New York Sale IV (#291), 1.17.02 [u]Weight[/u]: 5.75 gm. [u]Maximal Diameter[/u]: 16.70 mm [u]Axis[/u]: 12 [u]Note[/u]: Ammon-palm tree type = 3rd stage of Fourth Period (Magas Reign, 308-277 BC.) bronze coinage (BMC nomenclature). The Ammon-palm tree coins fall into two groups, the one marked by twelve sequence letters, A-M, the other by a changing symbol (accompanied in one case by letters)...what this A-M sequence consists is uncertain. It can hardly be of regnal years, for the coins are too late for Ptolemy I, the district was independent for too long under Ptolemy II, and it is doubtful whether Magas ever definitely assumed the royal title. The head of Ammon, always with the diadem and uraeus-like ornament, is remarkable for its more animal treatment, the beard being very short and patterned in such a way over cheek and throat as to suggest the neck of a ram. The combination of certain Ptolemaic traits with the beast-like type produces a curious effect (Robinson, BMC Cyrenaica, pgs. cxxxi-cxxxii). GK227