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Electronic Auction 459

Lot nuber 2

IBERIA, Celtitan. Circa 200-150 BC. Æ As (33mm, 23.14 g, 12h).


Electronic Auction 459
Lot: 2.
 Estimated: $ 750

Greek, Bronze

Sold For $ 700. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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IBERIA, Celtitan. Circa 200-150 BC. Æ As (33mm, 23.14 g, 12h). Diademed and draped male head right / CELTITAN, boar standing right on spear-head. ACIP 2427; O. Simkin, “The Celtic coins that says it is?,” Chris Rudd FPL 107, fig. 1 (this coin). Mostly dark green patina with some earthen deposits around edge, reverse grayish-silver on high points. VF. Extremely rare and among the finest known. An important and elusive coin for collectors of Celtic.

From the Asher D. Atchick Collection. Ex Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 314 (6 November 2013), lot 2; Chris Rudd FPL 107 (September 2009), no. 1.

This exceedingly rare coin of Celtitan (thought to be modern day Peñaflor on the Guadalquivir river) has a reverse legend that can be expanded to CELTITAN(orum) or CELTITAN(um), identifying it as a coin of the Celtitani or the people of Celti. It would seem to imply that the town was founded by Celts from the north, not Celtiberians, and as such is an unprecedented statement of Celtic curtural identity. As Simkin states in his brief but interesting essay cited above, “this would apparenlty make our CELTITAN bronze the only known attestation of the ethnonym ‘Celt’ in a coin legend; in other words, the only Celtic coin that says it is.”

Closing Date and Time: 8 January 2020 at 10:00:20 ET.

All winning bids are subject to an 18% buyer’s fee.