This coin from the ancient Roman city of Cyrene in Northern Africa depicts the fruit or seed pod of a plant called Silphium. This plant was so important to the Romans that it is thought to be at least partially responsible for the reason why we symbolically represent hearts with this shape: ♥ The Romans used various parts of the silphium plant for many different uses, from a culinary herb to medicine for an assortment of possible ailments. Silphium was most highly prized for use as birth control. The Romans believed it to be the most effective birth control available to them. Silphium was only known to grow along the coast near Cyrene, now modern day Libya, and some sources claimed that it could only grow in the wild. This, combined with the great demand, resulted in the extinction of silphium as far as the Romans knew. Supposedly the last known piece of silphium was eaten by Emperor Nero. Based upon descriptions of the plant, it is thought to be related to the Ferula genus. This genus in turn is part of the Apiaceae family which contains plants such as parsley, wild carrot, and fennel. These plants are known to stimulate uterine contractions and induce menstruation in large doses, so the Romans may have been correct about silphium's efficiency as birth control. The true identity and effectiveness of silphium cannot be definitively determined though due to the length of time since an extinction which may or may not have actually occurred. All we know is that the Romans believed they drove this plant to extinction, and that this was a great tragedy because they then had to resort to inferior seasonings and birth control methods. Happy Valentine's day.
--Morgan Wellman
Sources: The Shape of My Heart: Where did the ubiquitous Valentine's symbol come from? by Keelin McDonell, Slate.com, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2007.
Did the ancient Romans use a natural herb for birth control?, Straight Dope, 13 October 2006
Tatman, John. "Silphium: Ancient wonder drug?". Jencek's Ancient Coins & Antiquities.
B. Namavar Jahromi, A. Tartifizadeh, S. Khabnadideh. "Comparison of fennel and mefenamic acid for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea." International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics - February 2003 (Vol. 80, Issue 2, Pages 153-157).
