FORVM`s Classical Numismatics Discussion Board

Numismatic and History Discussion Forums => Celtic, Barbaric & Tribal Imitative Coins Discussion Forum => Topic started by: Kilian O on February 13, 2022, 11:59:47 am

Title: Celtic Alexander Tetradrachm
Post by: Kilian O on February 13, 2022, 11:59:47 am: Good evening,

Picked this coin up and was wondering if someone could tell me something more about it. It's imitating an Alexander issue from Memphis. I very often see Philip II tets but I havn't had any luck finding alexander ones. Would these be minted by the same danubian celts that minted the Philip II?

Appreciate any input, thanks!

Kilian
Title: Re: Celtic Alexander Tetradrachm
Post by: Joe Sermarini on February 13, 2022, 06:15:04 pm: I don't have any wisdom to share, but I like the coin!
Title: Re: Celtic Alexander Tetradrachm
Post by: Altamura on February 14, 2022, 02:27:33 am: Yes, there also have been imitations of Alexander tetradrachms by the "celtic" peoples of the Balcans:
https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?term=alexander+zeus++tetradra*++imit*&category=1-2&lot=&thesaurus=1&images=1&en=1&de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&ot=1&currency=usd&order=1 (https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?term=alexander+zeus++tetradra*++imit*&category=1-2&lot=&thesaurus=1&images=1&en=1&de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&ot=1&currency=usd&order=1)

Partially these coins have their own style and can be attributet with some certainty to certain regions, but I'm not familiar enough with this topic to know more :(.

Regards

Altamura
Title: Re: Celtic Alexander Tetradrachm
Post by: djmacdo on February 14, 2022, 01:31:45 pm: In addition to western and eastern Celtic imitations, imitations were also made in the eastern provinces of the Seleucid empire. This may be one of the eastern imitations, which remain too little known and studied.
Title: Re: Celtic Alexander Tetradrachm
Post by: Anaximander on February 16, 2022, 07:04:21 am: Nice coin! Long ago, I picked up one such "barbarous" Alexander III tetradrachm from the Lower Danube (here) (https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=155711) and another of Phillip III from the "Carpathian" region (here) (https://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=158484). I still don't know much about those issues.

Martin Price lists several examples of the Memphis type, #3970-3971 in the British Museum Collection. The device on the reverse lower left is a rose. He also lists 44 "barbarous" examples, Plates CLI to CLIII, but none having a Memphis prototype like yours.
Title: Re: Celtic Alexander Tetradrachm
Post by: Kilian O on February 17, 2022, 01:42:56 pm: Thanks for the input and yours surely are from a more artistic die! I found another die match that sold 4 years ago but other then that I havn't been able to succesfully find a third. Very intriguing piecesn this one in particular seemed to have circulated for a long time.