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Tetradrachm Samobor A Type
| Issuer | East Noricum |
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| Year | 200 BC - 1 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 25 mm |
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| Obverse description | Stylized male head facing left, derived from the Macedonian Hellenistic prototype, rendered in the characteristically abstracted Celtic artistic idiom. The hair is elaborately depicted as a series of raised pellets and elongated oval bosses arranged in diagonal rows across the scalp, giving a strongly decorative, almost textile-like appearance. Wild, flame-like locks radiate outward from the crown and nape, each rendered as curved, tapering relief elements. The facial features are schematically modeled, with a subtly indicated eye, defined chin, and traces of a torque or neckline element below. A partial dotted border is visible along the upper periphery of the field. |
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| Reverse description | A prancing horse facing left occupies the central field, rendered in the bold, stylized manner characteristic of East Noric Celtic coinage. The animal's body is powerfully modeled with a deeply curved, swelling torso and sharply articulated, clawed hooves typical of the Samobor type. The mane is rendered as a series of flowing, curved relief strands sweeping upward and backward, with a prominent spiral or pellet motif visible above the neck. The tail streams freely to the right in a decorative cascade of curved lines. The field is otherwise plain, with no legend or exergual inscription, reflecting the purely aniconic Celtic numismatic tradition. |
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| Additional information |
East Noricum occupied the eastern Alpine region roughly corresponding to modern Slovenia and parts of Austria, and its Celtic tribes minted silver coinage independently of Roman authority well before formal provincialization under Augustus. The Samobor group takes its name from the Croatian town near which a significant hoard concentration was identified, helping researchers establish the regional attribution. Kostial's classification of this type at entries 165–166 places it within a tight stylistic cluster distinguished from neighboring Tauriscan issues by specific die characteristics rather than weight standards, which converge across the broader Norican series.