Catalog
Drachm
| Issuer | Uncertain Cisalpine Gallic tribes |
|---|---|
| Year | 250 BC - 200 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Hammered |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A lion passant to the right rendered in a schematized Celtic style derived from the Massalian prototype, with exaggerated musculature and a curling tail. Below the lion's body, a crayfish (astacus) motif is visible, a diagnostic feature of this 'crayfish type' series. Above the lion, a partial Greek legend appears in the upper field, heavily degenerated from the original Massalian inscription. The overall design is stylistically abstracted, reflecting Celtic reinterpretation of the Greek Massalia coinage prototype. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | ΜΑΣΣΑ (Translation: Marseille.) |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
The Cisalpine Gauls — settled across the Po Valley from roughly the fourth century BC onward — struck imitative silver coinage derived from Massaliot and ultimately Rhodian prototypes, adapting Greek monetary forms to serve exchange needs among communities with no indigenous coinage tradition of their own. Attribution remains genuinely contested; "uncertain" in this context is not scholarly hedging but an honest reflection of how poorly tribal boundaries and minting activity can be correlated archaeologically in this region.
The CCCBM corpus (Celtic Coins and related material from Britain and Ireland, extended to continental types) remains the principal reference for systematic die-study of these issues. CCCBM 1#II-7 places this piece within a specific die group, which is the most precise attribution the evidence currently permits.