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 Sattelkopfpferd Type
| Issuer | Uncertain Eastern European Celts |
|---|---|
| Year | 300 BC - 100 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Celticised bearded male head, derived from the Greek type of Zeus, facing right, rendered in bold La Tène artistic style. The hair is depicted as deeply engraved, sweeping curved lines radiating from the crown, while the beard is represented by a row of large pellets or globular elements along the jawline. A prominent, stylised tendril or vegetal motif rises above the head, characteristic of Celtic artistic abstraction. The facial features are reduced to essential geometric forms, with a large circular eye, a strong aquiline nose, and pronounced chin, reflecting the progressive Celticisation of the original Macedonian prototype. The field is plain, with no legend or inscription. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Heavily abstracted equestrian figure to left, depicting a rider mounted on a horse in a highly stylised Celtic rendering characteristic of the Sattelkopfpferd type. The horse's body is reduced to simple geometric masses, with schematic stick-like legs terminating in pellets, and the distinctive saddle-head (Sattelkopf) form rendered as a large globular mass representing the horse's head and neck. The rider is summarily indicated by a schematic form above the horse's back, with an arm extended forward. Scattered pellets appear in the field below the horse's hooves, serving as decorative fill elements typical of Eastern Celtic coinage. No legend or inscription is present. |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The "Sattelkopfpferd" — saddle-head horse — designation comes from the highly abstracted equine on the reverse, a form so stylized it bears almost no resemblance to the Macedonian prototype from which it ultimately derives. These coins are the product of generations of die-cutters working from copies of copies, each iteration drifting further from Philip II's original coinage until the imagery became something entirely Celtic in character. Attribution to a specific tribe remains unresolved; Göbl's cataloging acknowledges the geographic spread across the middle Danube region without pinning production to any single political unit.