08(17) the mysterious world of celtic coins · through decades of warfare, king philip ii had...

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The Mysterious World of Celtic Coins Coins were developed about 650 BC on the western coast of modern Turkey. From there, they quickly spread to the east and the west, and toward the end of the 5th century BC coins reached the Celtic tribes living in central Europe. Initially these tribes did not have much use for the new medium of exchange. They lived self-sufficient and produced everything needed for living themselves. The few things not producible on their homesteads were bartered with itinerant traders.

The employ of money, especially of small change, is related to urban culture, where most of the inhabitants earn their living through trade or services. Only people not cultivating their own crop, grapes or flax, but buying bread at the bakery, wine at the tavern and garments at the dressmaker do need money. Because by means of money, work can directly be converted into goods or services.

The Celts in central Europe presumably began using money in the course of the 4th century BC, and sometime during the 3rd century BC they started to mint their own coins. In the beginning the Celtic coins were mere imitations of Greek, later also of Roman coins. Soon, however, the Celts started to redesign the original motifs. The initial images were stylized and ornamentalized to such an extent, that the original coins are often hardly recognizable.


Kingdom of Macedon, Alexander III the Great (336-‐323 BC) in the Name of Philip II, Stater, c. 324 BC, Colophon

Denomination: Stater Mint Authority: King Alexander III of Macedon Mint: Colophon Year of Issue: -‐324 Weight (g): 8.6 Diameter (mm): 19.0 Material: Gold Owner: Sunflower Foundation Through decades of warfare, King Philip II had turned Macedon into the leading power of the Greek world. In the summer of 336 BC he was assassinated, however, and succeeded by his son Alexander, who would later be known as "the Great." This coin was minted one year before Alexander's death. It bears a beautiful image of Apollo.

The coin is a so-called Philip's stater, as Alexander's father Philip had already issued them for diplomatic purposes (bribery thus) and for the pay of his mercenaries. These mercenaries, among them many Celts from northern and central Europe, later brought the Philip's staters into circulation in their homelands. The coins became so popular that they were minted long after Philip's death – not only by his son Alexander and his successors, but also by diverse Celtic tribes.


Upper Rhine, Helvetii, Stater (Imitation of the Philip's Stater), 3th or 2rd Century BC

Denomination: Stater Mint Authority: Tribe of the Helvetii Mint: Undefined Year of Issue: -‐300 Weight (g): 8.27 Diameter (mm): 17.0 Material: Gold Owner: Sunflower Foundation This gold coin is a Celtic imitation of the golden staters of the Macedonian King Philip II. It was minted by the tribe of the Helvetii, who settled in the area of present-day Switzerland and southern Germany. The head of the Greek god Apollo is still fairly close to the original. The biga (the two-horse chariot) on the reverse, however, clearly reveals the Celtic character of the coin.


Gaul, Parisii, Stater (Imitation of a Philip's Stater), End of 2nd Century BC

Denomination: Stater Mint Authority: Tribe of the Parisii Mint: Undefined Year of Issue: -‐120 Weight (g): 7.21 Diameter (mm): 22.0 Material: Gold Owner: The Celtic tribe of the Parisii lived in several well developed settlements along the shore and on the islands of the River Seine in Gaul. At the time of the arrival of the Romans, in the years 53 and 52 BC, the largest settlement of the Parisii seems to have been at today's Nanterre, 15 kilometers west of modern Paris. Like many other prosperous Celtic tribes, the Parisii minted coins of bronze, silver and gold to maintain their trade.

This stater ascribed to the Parisii tribe is the pinnacle of Celtic minter's craft. It can be traced back to the staters of the Macedonian king Philip II that depicted the head of Apollo and a two-horse chariot (a biga). However, many elements of the archetype, like the second horse, the chariot, and the driver, have disappeared from the Parisii staters. Only the net floating over the horse reminds of the whip – developed from a Celtic driving spike – that was originally depicted.

The stylized head of Apollo on the staters of the Parisii appears extremely modern. The hair is dissolved in plastic bodies and forms a huge mane. That is reminiscent of the Celtic fashion to wash their hair with lime so that it stood up and presented itself as a wild, frizzy hairstyle. Incidentally, the Roman republicans dismissed the strikingly colorful clothes of the Parisii as vain. Who knows if this was not already the origin of the fashion consciousness of the Parisians.


Kingdom of Macedon, Philip II (359-‐336 BC), Tetradrachm, c. 342 BC, Pella

Denomination: Tetradrachm Mint Authority: King Philip II of Macedon Mint: Pella Year of Issue: -‐342 Weight (g): 14.18 Diameter (mm): 26.0 Material: Silver Owner: Sunflower Foundation This tetradrachm was struck in the late 340s BC in Pella, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Macedon. The obverse shows the head of Zeus, the reverse a young naked horseman. At that time King Philip, a great statesman, ruled over Macedon. Before Philip's time, Macedon had been relatively irrelevant compared to the Greek polities.

By depicting the head of the Greek god Zeus on his tetradrachms, Philip introduced an innovation on Macedonian coins. The head was designed in Greek style, since that was in line with his political program: Philip had pan-Hellenistic plans, directed against the Persian Empire – he was intending to conquer Asia Minor and free the Greek cities under Persian rule. Being Macedonian, he could easily foresee that the Greeks would not accept him as liberator, however. In his coinage, Philip therefore emphasized the unifying aspects of Greeks and Macedonians. Besides, the coin had an impact on the Celts on the lower Danube where it was extensively imitated.


Danube Region, Pannonia, Tetradrachm (Imitation of the Coin of Philip II), c. 300 BC

Denomination: Tetradrachm Mint Authority: Undefined Mint: Undefined in Pannonia Year of Issue: -‐300 Weight (g): 17.72 Diameter (mm): 29.0 Material: Silver Owner: Sunflower Foundation According to archaeological finds, Celtic tribes replaced or incorporated other ancient European peoples in the early 1st millennium BC already. In the course of the following generations, they mingled with these indigenous peoples.

In Pannonia, where this coin was minted, the original inhabitants were Illyrians. They had been living in close contact with the Macedonian and later the Hellenist world. Hence Celtic, Illyrian, Macedonian and Greek elements are united in this coin. Archetypes were the tetradrachms of the Macedonian King Philip II, which showed Zeus on the obverse and a rider on the reverse. Here, these motifs were playfully imitated in a typical Celtic way. On the other hand, the remainders of the coin inscription are Greek. And the Illyrian influence can be found in the naturalistic reproduction of the motifs, which is far too conspicuous for genuine Celtic taste.


Kingdom of Macedonia, Alexander III the Great (336-‐323 BC), Stater, 330-‐323 BC, Amphipolis

Denomination: Stater Mint Authority: King Alexander III of Macedon Mint: Amphipolis Year of Issue: -‐330 Weight (g): 9 Diameter (mm): 19.0 Material: Gold Owner: Sunflower Foundation This stater was issued by Alexander the Great. The obverse depicts the Greek goddess Athena wearing a Corinthian helmet, while the reverse shows a Nike, the Greek personification of victory.

One of Alexander's many achievements was the establishment of a single currency in his huge realm. These "imperial coins" replaced the wide variety of local issues. Only the Romans were to achieve something like that in their empire again.


Bohemia, Boii, 1/24 Stater, 3rd Century BC

Denomination: 1/24 Stater Mint Authority: Tribe of the Boii Mint: Undefined Year of Issue: -‐250 Weight (g): 0.34 Diameter (mm): 6.0 Material: Gold Owner: Sunflower Foundation The archetype for this little coin was the gold stater of Alexander the Great, which bore the goddess Athena waering a Corinthian helmet on the obverse, while the reverse depicted Nike, the goddess of victory.

According to Celtic conception of art, the obverse of this coin probably still showed the Athena with her helmet; several adaptations had turned the divine head into a little hump, however. The Nike on the reverse, on the other hand, was transformed into a warrior with a shield and a lance.


Bohemia, Boii, 1/24 Stater (Athena Alkis Type), End of 3rd Century BC

Denomination: 1/24 Stater Mint Authority: Tribe of the Boii Mint: Undefined Year of Issue: -‐300 Weight (g): Diameter (mm): Material: Gold Owner: Sunflower Foundation The smooth embossment on the obverse and the stripes and dots on the reverse of this coin are typical for the Boii. In numismatics, these coin type is called "Athena Alkis type." Its archetype was the gold stater of Alexander the Great that bore the image of Pallas Athena wearing a Corinthian helmet on the obverse. The reverse depicted Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. However, these motifs can hardly be recognized on the Celtic imitation any more. The embossment on the obverse shows Athena wearing her helmet, although the goddess is reduced to a minimum, as is typical for Celtic taste. The same is true for the Nike on the reverse which is diminished to some stripes and dots.


Roman Republic, Quinarius, c. 211 BC

Denomination: Quinarius Mint Authority: Roman Republic Mint: Undefned in Southern Italy Year of Issue: -‐211 Weight (g): 1.93 Diameter (mm): 18.0 Material: Silver Owner: Sunflower Foundation The goddess on the obverse of this quinarius is commonly identified as Roma. The cult of Roma was a Greek invention, that only emerged in the 2nd century BC however – long after the reorganization of the Roman currency and the introduction of the denarius and the quinarius, which both always bear the head of "Roma." Who the lady is, is hitherto unknown. A decisive factor for the Roma cult in Greece was the Roman victory in the Second Punic War: like that, the Hellenes demonstrated their admiration towards the Roman power.


Belgium, Denarius, 1st Century BC

Denomination: Denarius Mint Authority: Undefined Celtic Tribe Mint: Undefined Year of Issue: -‐50 Weight (g): 2.69 Diameter (mm): 16.0 Material: Bronze Owner: Sunflower Foundation Our knowledge on Celtic numismatic has made substantial progress in recent years. Nevertheless, the minting date of Celtic coins often remains unknown. Because Celtic money is rarely found together with other objects, it cannot be dated exactly. On the other hand, in many cases we at least have one clue: as Celtic coins were often imitations of Greek or Roman coins, they could not be minted prior to their archetypes.

The imitative character of Celtic coins becomes apparent in their alignment with weight standards of Greek and Roman coins. Numismatists therefore use the Greek and Roman terms for Celtic coins. Accordingly Celtic gold coins are called staters, while silver coins are tetradrachms (if they are imitations of Greek coins) or quinars (if they are imitations of Roman coins). The denominations of bronze coins are unknown; they are therefore referred to as heavy and light bronzes respectively.

The bronze coin shown here has a weight of about 2.7 grams and thus is a light bronze. Its archetype was the Roman denar, which was minted for the first time towards the end of the 3rd century BC (about 211 BC). Denars were minted from silver; on their obverse the goddess Roma wearing a winged helmet was depicted as well as the figure X (= 10, for 10 asses added up to one denar).

The illustration on the obverse of this Celtic bronze coin is fairly true to the original Roman silver denarius. The reverse, on the other hand, is an independent Celtic creation; it depicts a warrior wearing a helmet in the shape of an animal. Such bird helmets have actually been worn by Celtic warriors. Fancy illustrations as the one on this coin are usually found on later Celtic coins. For that reason, this coin was likely to be minted in the course of the 1st century BC.


Eastern Middle Gaul, Senones?, Spherical Stater, c. 60 BC

Denomination: Stater Mint Authority: Tribe of the Senones? Mint: Undefined Year of Issue: -‐60 Weight (g): 7.02 Diameter (mm): 14.0 Material: Gold Owner: Sunflower Foundation Time and again, numismatists attempt to attribute certain Celtic coin types to specific Celtic tribes. But although a relatively large number of Celtic tribes are known by name, the localization of the related territories remains difficult.

The problem of attribution applies also to the so-called spherical staters. These coins circulated from France over Germany and Switzerland as far as Scotland. Pursuant to their frequency, they were supposedly minted by one of the Celtic tribes living in eastern middle Gaul.

Arguably they were minted during the Gallic Wars, around the middle of the 1st century BC thus. This reflects the fact that many of these spherical staters were found in treasure troves, which were often buried in times of war.


Upper Danube Region, Stater (Rainbow Cup Coin), 2nd Century BC

Denomination: Stater Mint Authority: Undefined Celtic Tribe Mint: Undefined Year of Issue: -‐200 Weight (g): 7.26 Diameter (mm): 18.0 Material: Gold Owner: Sunflower Foundation This type of Celtic gold coin is known as "rainbow cup," a name deriving from the medieval belief that a treasure could be found at the end of a rainbow. After heavy rains, peasants would often find such tiny gold coins on their freshly plowed fields; they assumed that the coins had fallen from the rainbow.

Rainbow cup coins can mainly be found in the upper Danube region in southern Germany. Like most Celtic coins they are anonymous, without inscriptions or other indications of a minting authority thus. As a result, the provenance, date and place of minting of many issues are still unknown. Just as little do we know how the Celts themselves called their coins. In general, numismatists use Greek and Roman denominations for Celtic coins. Accordingly, gold coins of a weight between 7 and 8 grams are called staters.


The Rhineland, Quinarius, 1st Century BC

Denomination: Quinarius Mint Authority: Tribe of the Vagiones Mint: Undefined Year of Issue: -‐100 Weight (g): 1.67 Diameter (mm): 14.0 Material: Silver Owner: Sunflower Foundation According to its weight, this Celtic silver coin is a quinarius. After the charming depiction on the obverse it is known as "quinar with the dancing manikin." Actually, the dancing manikin is a running warrior holding a torque in his right hand, a typical Celtic collar that was reserved for high-ranking people, and for gods.

Quinarii of the "dancing manikin" variety are rare and not known in a secure archaeological context as yet. It is assumed that they were produced in the middle Rhine region during the 1st century BC.


Southern Italy, Lucania, Metapontum, Obol, c. 440-‐420 BC

Denomination: Obol Mint Authority: City of Metapontum Mint: Metapontum Year of Issue: -‐440 Weight (g): 0.4 Diameter (mm): 8.0 Material: Silver Owner: Sunflower Foundation During the 6th century BC, the staters of Metapontum bore an ear of barley on the obverse and an incuse square on the reverse. Many collectors consider these the most beautiful of all Greek coins. Around the middle of the 5th century BC, Metapontum started to mint other denominations along with the incuse staters (i.e. coins with a negative imprint of their obverse motif on the reverse). From now on, the coins bore an image on both sides, as can be seen on this obol. Just as the ear, the bull's head supposedly stood for the fruitfulness of the city's hinterland.


Britain, Trinovantes or Catuvellauni, Cunobelinus (c. 10-‐40 AD), Stater, 10-‐20 AD, Camulodunum

Denomination: Stater Mint Authority: King Cunobelinus of the Catuvellauni Mint: Camulodunum (Colchester) Year of Issue: 10 Weight (g): 5.5 Diameter (mm): 20.0 Material: Gold Owner: Sunflower Foundation Most of our knowledge of pre-Roman Britain derives from Julius Caesar's comments on the Gallic Wars. The commander reported for instance that the British tribes used coins from gold and copper as well as iron bars of a certain weight standard for payments.

The campaigns of the Romans brought a Romanization of British coinage: this stater gives the name of the mint as well as the minting authority – a curiosity among Celtic coins. The piece was struck in the town of Camulodunum (today's Colchester) in the east of the island, where the tribes of the Trinovantes and Catuvellauni lived; the issuer was King Cunobelinus. The obverse is reminiscent of the issues of Metapontum in southern Italy, where the ear of corn was depicted on coins already in the 5th century BC. The reverse, on the other hand, is a imitation of the staters of Philip II of Macedonia.

08(17) the mysterious world of celtic coins · through decades of warfare, king philip ii had...

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