Ave!

Danube Celts, AR Tetradrachm, Unpublished?, 2nd Cent BC

Derived from the Macedonian Kingdom of Philip II

Billon/Silver alloy; 24mm/9.2gm   "Kugelwange" type

Con/ Slightly off-centered on the obverse, otherwise, Very Fine; boldly struck on the reverse with a superb example of a Celtic horse.

Obv/ Laureate head of Zeus right - or is it?

Rev/ Free horse prancing left; dot and circle above

Seller's Note/ When arrived, we assumed (!) the obverse was the typical 'ball cheek' type, with the laurel wreath expressed as a series of dots. (See the first photo) Not! When turned 90 degrees clock-wise, a very clear face is now revealed! What the heck? (See second photo) Our only explanation is that the obverse die was re-tooled at one time or another. Very cool, folks!

Is this is rare and unpublished variant of the "Kugelwange" type? Who knows?

Our price for this seemingly unpublished example is ridiculously low, especially considering its very odd bust type.

Sirmia was a fertile region of the Pannonian Plain in Europe, between the Danube and Sava rivers. Today, it is divided between Serbia in the east and Croatia in the west.