Ave!

Danube Celts, Vigintidrachm?, ca. 2nd Cent. BC

Beginning about 300 BC, the Danubian Celtic tribes began to imitate the images on the coins of Philip and Alexander the Great (Zeus obverse and Horse reverse) but in their own particular style. 

Æ; 37mm/19.2gm!   "Kugelwange" type, sort of...

Con/ After appropriate cleaning, about Very Fine for the issue (if there is such a thing), glossy dark green patina. Easy to clean, just soft dirt; you know the drill. :-)

Obv/ Laur. and bearded bust of Zeus right, sort of...

Rev/ Free horse prancing left, sort of...

Seller's Note/ This is neither the common drachm nor a tetradrachm, but the very more scarcedecadrachmor is it?A typical drachm weighs in at around 1.2 gm. Hence, 10 drachms would = 12 gm. But our strange example weighs in at 20 drachms = avigintidrachm!

What's the deal with this coin and why is it so odd-looking? Just guessing here, but the flan appears to have been cast in a mold, broken, and then struck, or visa versa. So where was the quality control? Back in the day, any Celtic village or township worth it's salt, struck their own coins, as there was no true authority to regulate the same. Most likely, this particular issue was not valued as a coin, but simply traded by it's weight.

Extremely rare, perhaps unique, and perfect for Celtic coin collectors looking for that one single coin to add to their book. A real gem!