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Drachm Kapostal Type
| Issuer | Hercuniates |
|---|---|
| Year | 200 BC - 1 BC |
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| Value | Drachm (1) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Celticised bearded male head facing right, rendered in the distinctive La Tène artistic tradition with stylised, flowing hair depicted as bold relief ridges. The large, prominent eye is rendered as a raised pellet within a broad socket, a hallmark of Celtic die-cutting. A partial border of raised pellets frames the design along the left and lower periphery of the flan. The overall treatment reflects a progressive abstraction from the Hellenistic prototype, retaining the general physiognomy of the original while transforming it into a characteristically Celtic idiom. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Highly stylised horse prancing to left, its body rendered with bold, rounded forms characteristic of the Celtic Kapostal type. Above the horse's back, an abstracted rider is represented by a crested helmet reduced to a schematic, curvilinear device, with the long crest depicted as a sweeping arc. Subsidiary pellet and arc symbols are distributed in the field around the horse. The legs of the horse are rendered with elongated, tapering forms, and the overall composition displays the advanced degree of abstraction typical of the Hercuniate coinage. |
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| Additional information |
The Hercuniates were a Celtic people settled in the region of Pannonia — roughly modern western Hungary — whose coinage derived from Macedonian prototypes absorbed through trade and contact with the Hellenistic world. The Kapostal type takes its name from the Hungarian site where a significant hoard concentration was identified, giving scholars a geographic anchor for an otherwise difficult-to-attribute series. Attribution to the Hercuniates specifically relies heavily on Göbl's die analysis and findspot clustering rather than any inscribed ethnic marker.
The Kostial and CCCBM concordances disagree slightly on die groupings within this type, which is why the Göbl reference here carries a "var." notation.