Celts in Eastern Europe. c. 3rd century BC
Celts in Eastern Europe. c. 3rd century BC
AR Tetradrachm, 12.83g (25mm, 6h). Beardless type. Celticised, laureate and beardless head right / Stylised rider on horseback to right; four small pellets before, globe under horse.
Pedigree: From the Hermann Lanz Collection; this coin published in M. Kostial, Kelten im Osten - Gold und Silber der Kelten in Mittel- und Osteuropa - Sammlung Lanz (Staatlichen Münzsammlung München, 1997); This coin exhibited by the Staatlichen Münzsammlung München at the 1997 International Numismatic Congress in Berlin; at the Berliner Bank also in 1997; also exhibited at the Luitpoldblock Palmengarten, Munich in 2003 (exhibition #69[reverse]);Ex Kress, Auction 186, 25 October 1983, lot 372.
References: Göbl, OTA pl. 7, 56/1; Preda, MGD pl. 13, 11 and 12 var. Kostial, Lanz collection 382 (this coin).
Grade: High relief but slightly rough surfaces. Beautiful cabinet toning. EF for issue (gk1336)
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The Celtic people are a relatively uncertain group, however they were from all over Europe. Their coinage is really one of the only links we have to their existence since there is no writing that survives. The coins give a glimpse into a highly interesting existence. The influence of the Macedonians (e.g. Philip II and Alexander the Great) is clearly strong. Just as with some of the Spanish coinage that shows idealized figures, the Celtic coins are an interesting and often strange interpretation of people and animals.
