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Stater - Lysimachos Kolchis imitation
| Issuer | Bastarnae Celto-Scythians |
|---|---|
| Year | 100 BC - 100 AD |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 7.56 g |
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| Obverse description | Stylised effigy of Lysimachos facing right, rendered in a barbarous, heavily abstracted Celtic idiom. The portrait retains the characteristic diademed and helmeted head derived from the original Lysimachean prototype, with the horn of Ammon suggested by a curved protrusion above the brow. Facial features are boldly simplified, with a pronounced circular eye, broad cheek, and schematic hair indicated by flowing strands radiating from beneath the helmet. The overall style reflects the progressive degeneration of the Hellenistic prototype through successive Celtic imitative copying. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (100 BC - 100 AD) |
| Additional information |
The Bastarnae occupied a contested zone between the Celtic and Iranian worlds, and their gold coinage reflects that ambiguity directly — imitating the prestigious Lysimachean stater type that had circulated as a trusted trade medium across the Black Sea region for over two centuries by this point. These Kolchis-group imitations are distinguished from other barbarian Lysimachean derivatives by specific stylistic degeneration patterns in the die work, placing their production within a network of tribes operating north and east of the Danube delta.
The Bastarnae are recorded by Roman sources raiding into Thrace and Macedonia as early as the 170s BC, and were eventually enrolled as Roman foederati under Augustus.