Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Tetradrachm Kugelwange Type
| Issuer | Uncertain Eastern European Celts |
|---|---|
| Year | 300 BC - 201 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Tetradrachm (4) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Stylized Celtic imitation of a male head facing right, derived from the Macedonian prototype of Philip II or Alexander III. The face is rendered in a distinctly abstract Celtic manner, with a prominent bulbous cheek (the hallmark 'Kugelwange' feature), a large almond-shaped eye rendered in relief, and flowing hair indicated by sweeping curved lines behind the head. A wreath or diadem is suggested by a broad leaf-like form across the forehead. The coin border is formed by a row of beaded dots along the rim. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | ND (300 BC - 201 BC) |
| Additional information |
The "Kugelwange" — literally "ball cheek" — type takes its name from the distinctive globular rendering of facial anatomy that emerged as Celtic die-cutters working east of the Alps progressively abstracted their Macedonian prototypes over successive generations of copying. Philip II tetradrachms were the template, but by the third century the iconographic source had become almost unrecognizable through deliberate or iterative stylization. Attributing these to a specific tribe remains genuinely contested; the eastern Celtic zone from the Carpathian Basin into the Balkans produced overlapping coinage traditions that resist clean geographic assignment.