Archaeologists discovered two rare Celtic gold coins about 2300 years old in a swamp in the Berenfels region of Switzerland. The find is well-preserved due to the marshy environment and has great historical value.
The coins were minted independently by the Celts around the middle of the 3rd century BC and replicate the design of the gold coins of King Philip II of Macedon (the father of Alexander the Great). On the front - the head of Apollo, on the back - a chariot, but with Celtic elements.
Scientists believe that these coins were minted not as money, but as a ritual offering to the gods, a symbol of power, or a diplomatic gift. Such artifacts are very rare.
It reached Central Asia...
As Academician E. Rtveladze writes in the book "Ancient Coins of Central Asia," the first coins in Central Asia may have been mined only among the Greek population, since the indigenous population had not yet had time to conduct monetary and commodity circulation. This process began in the 3rd millennium BC. The assumption that it began in the 777th century, i.e., during the emergence of two independent kingdoms: the Parthian and Greco-Bactrian, is probably not contrary to reality.
BC. Most coins of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, which reigned from the 3rd century BC to the third quarter of the 2nd century BC, are considered rare examples of medallion art.
Greco-Bactrian coins were mainly of the same design: on the right side depicted the ruling king, and on the reverse - the gods he had chosen as his patron, for example, Zeus, Heracles, Poseidon, Apollo, and Dioscuri.
Medal-coins dedicated to Alexander, Antiolus, Diodotus, and Euthydemus are also noteworthy. One such coin-medal - a coin minted by Antimachus in honor of Euthydemus - was found in a laurel found in Panjakent, and three coins issued by Agathocles in honor of Diodotus and Eucratides - in Bukhara.
Interestingly, Greco-Bactrian coins, in terms of their technical execution and, in particular, the methods of artistic expression in depicting the image of kings, surpass even the highest-quality minted lullabies. In ancient Greece, Greco-Bactrian coins, along with the Sicily decadrachma and tetradrachma, were considered the rarest examples of antique coinage. In their opinion: "Counting is an independent art with its own artistic laws and requirements."
The images of the Greco-Bactrian kings depicted on the coins are not a generally accepted image of the sole ideal ruler, but a true image of the king himself. Kings differ from each other not only in appearance. The artists effectively used wrinkles, gazes, and lip expressions to convey the emotional state of each of them.