Catalog
Silver Drachm with goat and rowel
| Issuer | Allobroges |
|---|---|
| Year | 100 BC - 85 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A goat or equine figure prancing to the right in a lively, stylized Celtic rendering, with forelegs raised and a flowing mane depicted by a long curved line extending above the back. In the lower field, a six-spoked wheel or rowel symbol is visible, accompanied by a pellet-in-annulet arrangement, serving as a characteristic Allobrogian tribal emblem. The composition fills the flan with vigorous Celtic artistic energy, and the design is unlettered. |
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| Mintage | ND (100 BC - 85 BC) |
| Additional information |
The Allobroges occupied the territory between the Rhône, the Isère, and the Arc rivers — roughly modern Savoie and Dauphiné — and were one of the few Gallic tribes to mint in silver rather than the potin or bronze favored by their neighbors. Their coinage accelerated sharply after 121 BC, when Rome annexed their lands as part of Gallia Transalpina, creating a client relationship that generated both tribute obligations and increased commercial traffic requiring small silver. The rowel motif seen on this type is a diagnostic marker distinguishing Allobrogian issues from superficially similar drachms of adjacent tribes.