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1 Drachm
| Issuer | Uncertain Eastern European Celts |
|---|---|
| Year | 200 BC - 100 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Drachm |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Stylized Celtic imitation of the head of Herakles facing right, wearing the Nemean lion skin headdress, derived from the Alexander III drachm prototype. The facial features are rendered in a characteristically abstracted Celtic artistic style, with simplified linear engraving replacing the naturalistic Hellenistic modeling. The flan is irregular and slightly convex, with the design occupying the central field. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Zeus Aëtophoros seated left on a backless throne, holding a long scepter in his left hand and an eagle in his outstretched right hand, after the Lysippan prototype used on Alexander III drachms. The figure is rendered in a bold but stylistically simplified Celtic adaptation, with the anatomical details substantially abstracted. The field is plain and largely uninscribed, consistent with Eastern European Celtic imitative coinage of this period. |
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| Additional information |
Celtic silver drachms of this type derive ultimately from the coinage of Philip II of Macedon, whose gold staters and silver tetradrachms flooded into Celtic territories as mercenary pay during the 4th century BC. The imitative tradition that followed was not crude copying — successive generations of Celtic celators abstracted the prototypes deliberately, producing increasingly stylized derivatives that functioned as a distinct monetary vocabulary rather than a failed attempt at realism.
Attribution within this broad "Uncertain Eastern European" category remains genuinely contested among specialists, with candidates ranging from Dacian tribal groups to communities along the middle Danube corridor.