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Tetradrachm Alexander III Type
| Issuer | Uncertain Eastern European Celts |
|---|---|
| Year | 300 BC - 201 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 17.08 g |
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| Obverse description | Stylised Celtic interpretation of the head of Herakles facing right, wearing the Nemean lion skin headdress with the scalp and muzzle rendered in a characteristically abstracted barbarian style. The facial features are boldly modelled with a prominent brow, large eye, and angular jaw, reflecting the Celtic die-cutter's departure from the refined Hellenistic prototype. The lion's paws are knotted beneath the chin. The entire design is enclosed within a beaded border, with the flan showing the typical irregular, slightly dumpy fabric of Eastern Celtic coinage. |
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| Reverse script | Greek |
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| Additional information |
Celtic tribes in the eastern Danube basin began producing imitative tetradrachms of Alexander III in the late 4th century BC, initially copying Macedonian prototypes with reasonable fidelity before progressively abstracting the designs into forms that reflect local artistic conventions rather than any attempt at monetary deception. These coins circulated as a genuine medium of exchange among tribal networks, not as forgeries — the issuing communities had no political incentive to pass them as Macedonian.
Kostial 882 falls within a cluster of types attributed to uncertain eastern European Celtic workshops, a designation that reflects genuinely unresolved scholarship rather than cataloging laziness. Die-link studies have yet to isolate a single production center for this group.