Stater - Alexander III Kolchis imitation

The Bastarnae occupied a contested zone between the Celtic and Germanic worlds, and their gold stater imitations of Alexander III coinage reflect sustained contact with Hellenistic monetary conventions rather than any direct Macedonian political connection. These pieces circulated across the Pontic steppe and into the Danube delta region, where the Bastarnae repeatedly intervened in the dynastic conflicts of neighboring kingdoms — most notably their alliance with Perseus of Macedon against Rome in the Third Macedonian War of 171–168 BC.

Kolchis-type imitations within this broad family are distinguished by progressive schematization of the prototype, with die-cutting that grew increasingly abstracted across generations of local production.