One thing I love about #Coins is the range of things you can learn about the world. At times, they can be keepers of knowledge which might otherwise be lost. This week's E-Sylum has an article about the extinct plant silphium on coins: https://www.coinbooks.org/v29/esylum_v29n17.html#article20

Used for contraception and abortion, medicine, food seasoning, perfume and as a livestock improver, its special properties made this herb one of the most precious commodities in Graeco-Roman antiquity.

Then, one day, it went extinct.

I'm not 100% sure on the exact coin, but there are a few picturing the plant: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/index.php?r=silphium

#Numismatics #CoinCollecting #AncientCoins #History #Histodons @numismatics @histodons