Celtic numismatics

Studie byla publikována roku 1964 v knize Archeologické studijní materiály (1) vydané Archeologickým ústavem ČSAV v Praze / The study was published in 1964 in the book Archeological Study Materials (1) published by the Institute of Archeology of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in Prague.

The Conference is focussed on a particular category of coins, those that were deliberately cut into two or more portions while in circulation, so as to create two or more coins, in periods of insufficient supply by mints of smaller value coins. The phenomenon has been mainly studied for the late Roman Republic and the early Empire, but it is also widespread in other cultural areas and date ranges. There is a need to address the question of coin-cutting with up-to-date analytical methods, above all on the basis of the detailed documentation produced by the most recent stratigraphic archaeological excavations, which alone can provide reliable chronological indications. It also seems advisable to broaden the scope of the investigation as much as possible, both with regard to date (for example: late Roman, Byzantine, medieval and modern periods) and geographicalli speaking.

Cet article a pour objet de présenter brièvement un trésor monétaire d’époque gauloise récemment mis au jour sur la commune de Montauriol, au nord du département du Lot-et-Garonne. La découverte, faite par quatre personnes dans un espace boisé au lieu-dit Parpaillou, remonte à la fin du mois de novembre 2014. Aucune trace de conteneur n’a pu être mise en évidence. L’emplacement, qui ne se rattache à aucun site archéologique connu, se situe à 6 km du Dropt, affluent de la Garonne, et à proximité du ruisseau de La Douyne. Conformément aux dispositions en vigueur, les inventeurs ont déclaré leur trouvaille au Service régional de l’Archéologie d’Aquitaine, lieu où les pièces ont été conservées le temps de l’étude.

In this paper, new information is published about the hoard which contained tetradrachmae of Philip II and their early imitations, some of which have already been published (Crnobrnja 2012). Thanks to an acquisition by the National Museum in Belgrade and gaining insight into a private collection, on this occasion we are publishing data about 33 new specimens from that hoard. The paper also provides an integral presentation of the preserved part of the hoard (a total of 78 specimens published in this and the previous paper, Table 1). New data about the appearance of the vessel in which the hoard was found (the situla with handles with attachments in the shape of lions’ heads) are an additional indicator of the possibility that early imitations of the tetradrachmae of Philip II in this hoard (Crnobrnja 2012, cat. No. 43-45; in this paper cat. No. 32 and 33) were minted either in the zone of contact between Macedonia and Thracia, or in the area between Mount Stara Planina and the Carpathian mountains.

A small hoard of Celtic silver coins from the region of  ancient southern Dacia, now southern Romania, reveals two different and interesting characteristics. The first is the apparent use of different designs, catalogued as separate types and series by CCCBM Vol. I, to indicate different denominations in the circulating group. The second is the occurrence on several of the coins of a monogram, a rare item on eastern Celtic coins, possibly used to represent the horse’s rider.

ABSTRACT: In the last quarter of the 1st Century B.C. Augustus undertook a reorganisation of the Roman monetary system, introducing new denominations. The smallest unit of value was the Quadrans, which was only struck in the years 9/8 B.C. and 5/4 B.C. in Rome and which is hardly present in the coin finds of Niedersachsen/Lower Saxony. Since the Quadrans played an essential role in the functioning of the monetary economy, in Gaul and Germany it was replaced with local coins, which were of a similar size and weight. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: Ab dem letzten Viertel des 1. vorchristlichen Jahrhunderts reorganisierte Augustus das römische Nominalsystem. Die kleinste Werteinheit war der Quadrans, der allerdings nur in den Jahren 9/8 v.Chr. und 5/4 v.Chr. in der Stadt Rom ausgeprägt wurde und in den Niedersächsischen Funden weitgehend fehlt. Da er jedoch für eine funktionierende Münzgeldwirtschaft unerlässlich war, liefen statt seiner in Gallien und Germanien einheimische Prägungen um, die ihm in Größe und Gewicht entsprachen.

The Viișoara hoard from Teleorman County was discovered in 1942 in the area of settlement, on the bank of the Călmățui River, at Pârlita point, by two locals. The hoard, initially composed of 280 silver coins, was found in a clay pot, and it was divided between the two. During the first half of the following year, the police was able to retrieve 135 pieces of the hoard which subsequently entered them collection of the Coin Room of the Romanian Academy. The 135 coins that were retrieved from the hoard are categorized as follows: 122 tetradrachms struck in Macedonia Prima and 13 pieces from Thasos (8 pieces with the letter M and 5 pieces with the privy mark MH).
From the analysis of the monetary hoards that were hidden in different
moments of the 1 st century BC, we can deduce that Viișoara hoard was brought to the north of the Danube region in a period before king Burebista’s expeditions to the West, between 80-60 BC. This hypothesis is also supported by the Șieu-Odorhei hoard in Bistrița-Năsăud County that also contained Macedonian tetradrachms with the later privy mark AP , slightly barbarized, with a clear degradation of the die. The latter was hidden during king Burebista’s expedition against the western Celts, between 60-55 BC.