Whilst the first coins were already in use in Greece and Rome as early as the sixth century BC, the Celts only became acquainted with the concept of coinage in the fourth and third centuries BC during their migrations to Italy, Greece and Asia Minor. Consequently, the first Celtic coins were modelled on Greek examples, particularly the gold staters and silver tetradrachms of Philip II of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great. Over time, however, the copied coin designs were increasingly simplified and altered, eventually giving rise to distinct coin types of their own.

Our ‘Coin of the Month’ illustrates this evolution of currency particularly clearly. The so-called ‘Kroisbach type’ tetradrachm was minted between 150 and 50 BC in Austria or western Hungary. The obverse (Image 2) depicts a head, the model for which was probably a head of Apollo with a ‘Greek profile’. The reverse (Image 1) shows a horseman, whose body is reduced to just the arms and head; the ‘royal horseman’ on the tetradrachms of Philip II of Macedon likely served as the inspiration.

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