Triton XV, Lot: 1327. Estimate $5000. Sold for $8000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

EASTERN EUROPE, Imitations of Philip II of Macedon. Late 4th – early 3rd centuries BC. AR Tetradrachm (25mm, 14.45 g, 1h). Mint in the middle Danube (Banat) region. Head of Zeus right, wearing laurel wreath / ΦIΛIΠΠ-OV, nude youth, holding branch in right hand, on horseback right; below raised foreleg, dolphin right; below, thunderbolt above Z. Lanz 354 (same obv. die, also same obv. die as Lanz 362 , but different rev. details); cf. OTA 10-14; CCCBM I S1 var. (kerykeion not dolphin); KMW 1015 (same obv. die); cf. de la Tour 9703. Good VF, toned. Well centered.

Ex Numismatica Genevensis SA 5 (2 December 2008), lot 8.

This issue is clearly among the earliest celtic imitations of Philip-type tetradrachms. When viewed in isolation from other coins of this type, only the subtle stylized elements of the head of Zeus, and the youth and horse on the reverse, as well as the division of the legend after (rather than between) the two pis, indicate the celtic origin of the piece. In other respects, the size and fabric of the flan, and the weight, are identical with official Macedonian issues. However, the die link to the Lanz 362 piece clearly shows that this coinage was extensive, with the reverses imitating a variety of official issues, and the skill of the engravers varied widely.