Tetradrachm Schnabelpferd type

The Costoboci remain one of the more poorly documented Dacian tribal groups, and attributing coinage to them carries genuine scholarly uncertainty — the Schnabelpferd ("beak-horse") type takes its name from the characteristically abstracted equine rendering that became progressively more stylized across successive die generations, making seriation the primary tool for relative dating within the second century BC. These coins derived ultimately from Macedonian prototypes, Philip II tetradrachms circulating west and north through trade and mercenary payment, then locally imitated and re-imitated until the original iconographic sources became nearly unrecognizable.