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Tetradrachm Kugelreiter with Legend Type
| Issuer | West Noricum |
|---|---|
| Year | 200 BC - 1 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 23 mm |
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| Obverse description | Laureate male head facing left, rendered in the late Celtic stylistic tradition derived from Hellenistic prototypes, identified as Apollo. The laureate wreath is executed in a characteristically Celtic abstract manner, composed of prominent pellets and elongated leaf-shaped elements radiating outward from the crown. The hair is rendered as flowing, deeply engraved strands framing the face, with bold facial features typical of the Norican Celtic die-cutting tradition. The overall composition fills the flan with the head dominating the field. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
West Noricum, roughly corresponding to the eastern Alps and parts of modern Slovenia and Austria, was home to a Celtic tribal confederation that controlled some of the most productive silver mining territory in pre-Roman Europe. The Noric silver coinage derived ultimately from Macedonian tetradrachm prototypes, but over generations the designs underwent radical stylistic abstraction — the "Kugelreiter" or ball-rider type being among the most visually distinctive products of this devolution. The added legend variants, catalogued by Kostial, represent a late-phase development in which certain Noric groups began inscribing names, possibly of chieftains or tribal authorities, onto an otherwise abstract coinage tradition.
Noricum was formally annexed by Rome around 15 BC without significant military resistance, after which indigenous silver coinage ceased almost immediately.