That is so cool! The Celtic Tet is a kugelwange ("ball cheek") coin. I have one myself. 20 mm, 11.46 g Obverse: Stylized laureate head of Zeus right Reverse: Stylized horse prancing left, pellet-in-annulet above, pelleted cross below. Lanz 468-9; OTA 193/9. I cobbled together the following info on these coins as well: Around the end of the 3rd century B.C., the Celtic Scordisci tribe started issuing their own local coinages imitating the types of Philip II of Macedon. These coinages had a limited volume of production and a restricted area of circulation, so their finds are not numerous and occur mostly in their own territory and in the neighboring territories of other Celtic or Celticized tribes. The Scordisci were originally formed after the Celtic invasion of Macedonia and Northern Greece (280-279 BC) which culminated in a great victory against the Greeks at Thermopylae and the sacking of Delphi, the center of the Greek world. The Celts then retreated back to the north of the Balkans (suffering many casualties along the way) and settled on the mouth of the Sava River calling themselves the Scordisci after the nearby Scordus (now Sar) mountains. The Scordisci, since they dominated the important Sava valley, the only route to Italy, in the second half of the 3rd century BC, gradually became the most powerful tribe in the central Balkans. From 141 BC, the Scordisci were constantly involved in battles against Roman held Macedonia. They were defeated in 135 BC by Cosconius in Thrace. In 118 BC, according to a memorial stone discovered near Thessalonica, Sextus Pompeius, probably the grandfather of the triumvir, was slain fighting against them near Stobi. In 114 BC, they surprised and destroyed the army of Gaius Porcius Cato in the western mountains of Serbia, but were defeated by Minucius Rufus in 107 BC. From time to time they still gave trouble to the Roman governors of Macedonia, whose territory they invaded, even advancing as far as Delphi for a second time and once again plundering the temple; but Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus finally overcame them in 88 BC and drove them back across the Danube. After this, the power of the Scordisci declined rapidly. This decline was more a result of the political situation in their surrounding territories rather than the effects of Roman campaigns, as their client tribes, especially the Pannonians, became more powerful and politically independent. Between 56 and 50 BC, the Scordisci were defeated by Burebista's Dacians (a Thracian king of the Getae and Dacian tribes), and became subject to him.
Being born and raised in North America it just blows my mind that detectorists can routinely find this stuff. If it were possible in my area I'd be all in. Great finds as always @galba68
Nice MD finds, @galba68 ! And thanks for the info, @Nathan P ! I particularly like that Celtic Drachm, Galba68! I have a couple of those FAT Cheeks: Celtic Imitation Philip II 2nd C BCE AR Drachm Kugelwange type- Danube Valley - pecunum auction Celt Imit Philip II 2nd C BCE AR Drachm Zeus Horse pellet-in-annulet above Kugelwange type- Danube Valley - Kostial 508 OTA 204
Very very cool, once again! Small suggestion... I would love to see a single running thread for all of your detector finds, so we can see the before/after pics in a single thread as you finish them! As much as I love the USA, sometimes I really wished I lived in a part of the EU that was once a center of commerce in ancient times!
Sweet finds galba! The Celtic tetradrachm came out nice and that newly dug denarius looks like it'll clean up very well. Thanks for sharing, your access to such ancient hunting grounds is turning my detector green with envy! I have few Celtic coins and none directly relevant to your tetradrachm, however Nathan's attractive coin and great historical summary touched upon something that I can share. I have a set of "ritually killed" Celtic warrior's weapons found together in the eastern end of the Carpathian Basin, adjacent to a Celtic town that was sacked and burned by Burebista in 60-59 BC. The Celtic long sword and spearhead would have been formidable weapons, and may perhaps have been used in the unsuccessful defense of the town. Rusty crusty and not as pretty as a nice chunk of Celtic silver, but representative of a facet of life that coins don't usually communicate. I wish I could go dig up a nice tetradrachm because with the wide range of styles I'm not very good at differentiating between genuine ones and well made fakes.
Great finds @galba68 and as we spoke about, great cleaning job Soil where your mding looks rich unlike the high in lime, yellow concrete out here! Congrats....Any idea what the floral piece is?
Great stuff @galba68 - I wish detectors would have been available when I was roaming the moors in northern England as a youngster (even as a teenager).
You're so lucky to live in a country with so much history, especially ancient history. If reincarnation happens, I'm coming back as an Englishman with a world class metal detector.
