Ancients: Middle Danube, Uncertain tribe. Ca. 100-50 B.C. AR tetradrachm,...

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Middle Danube, Uncertain tribe. Ca. 100-50 B.C. AR tetradrachm, (23 mm, 12.74 g, 6 h). Kroisbach type variant. Celticized male head left / Crested rider on horseback left; below, ground line composed of twisted torques. Freeman & Sear FPL 11, 3 (same dies); CNG 72, 25 (same dies); Gorny & Mosch 141, 22 (same dies). Otherwise unpublished. Choice XF, good metal and sharp strike. Extremely rare.

This coin builds on a long-standing Celtic tradition of abstract imitation of the Zeus and horseman types issued by Philip II of Macedon and his successors. Here the head of Zeus has been transformed into a youthful male with a bouffant hairstyle while the horseman appears as a large-headed Celtic deity emerging from the back of the horse. The lore of the horse and its close affinity to mortal humans and gods is a strong theme running through Celtic art.