I bought a Celtiberian bronze coin a year ago because I liked the wolf on the reverse. I next puchased Heiss's 1870 volume, Description générale des monnaies antiques de l'Espagne. My interest in Celtic Gaul and Roman prototypes for the Celtic designs was intrigued by the Iberian coinage and its melding of Roman and Celtic styles. I'm hooked and thus a new collecting field was born. Again, the topic is esoteric, the coins rare, the costs low in contrast to the rarity. I'm a sucker for something I can hold in my hands and not worry about whether it should be slabbed. Aesthetics and history, not condition, determine what I purchase.

The oldest so far is listed first.



Large bronze (17.4 gm) of Saguntum, The obverse features the head of Pallus (Roma) and SAGUNINV in the Roman alphabet. The reverse features the prow of a ship with a winged victory floating above. ARXE in the Celtiberian script below. The image before the prow is a caduceus. The coin is interesting for it bilingual inscriptions.

Next is a silver denarius ca. 180 to 20 B.C.



The denarius of the Osca feels Roman and certainly emulates the denarius as part of the Roman economic system. The lancer on the reverse is a classic Celtiberian figure and occurs on many coins across the Celtiberian tribes and is used on silver and bronze coins. The inscriptions are clearly Celtiberrian.

A bronze as(?) of Ilerda. This coin sparked my interest in the Celtiberian series.



No one knows what the denominations are supposed to be for Celtiberian coins, but the sizes correspond generally to those of Rome. The coin pictured here is 7.88 grams or about half the size of the Saguntum piece.
The coin dates to 80 to 72 B.C. The wolf on the reverse is thought to derive from the wold of Rome, although the wolf appears frequently on Celtic coins and imagery. The Celtiberian inscription above the wolf identifies the coin as from Ilerda. Julius Casear scored a tactical victory over Pompey in 49 B.C. near Ilerda.

Celtiberian bronze of Castulo.



The bronze dates to the period of Augustus, 27 B.C. to 14 A.D. The obverse figure may be Augustus. There is a crscent and star in front of the bust. Different figures appear in this location on other varieties of the type. The reverse features a sphinx, another figure I find intriguing. A Celtiberian legend below the sphinx is off the flan. Earlier coins from this mint were bilingual even though this one is not.

A very nice collection.

This one is pretty interesting. It reminds me of the Phillip tetradrachms.

I can see the resemblance, but it does have the look and feel of the Roman coins of the period.

My latest acquisition is a bronze (9.98 gm) of Augustus struck in Osset.



The Osset mint was probably located in the area of Seville and struck coins with variations of grape clusters for about two centuries. The coin shown here is a type struck under Augustus and he is most likely pictured on the obverse. Two styles are known for the type, a traditional Roman naturalistic image and a slightly more abstract barbaric style of which this is an example.

That definitely looks like Augustus to me. Is that a female figure on the reverse?

The more naturalistic version is definitely a male.

Just really built up pecs then

An As of Obulco ca, 120 - 20 B.C.



Female obverse and plow and ear of grain on the reverse.

Lovely coins I dont have any Iberian in my collection but now might well start looking for some Thanks for sharing them with us

Did the Celtic tribes in Spain mint any coins before the Roman occupation?

Please, sby place a link where is celtiberian abc (alphabeth) with transcription!

D.F. Allen in the Coins of the Ancient Celts (1980) writes:

Spain had an extensive native coinage of silver and bronze, and some of it was issued by Celtic-speaking or Celtic-influenced people, but the whole Spanish coinage, employing a local Spanish script, hangs together and is best studied as a provincial offshoot of Roman coinage. (p. 6)

Heiss lumps the Celtiberian and Roman provincial coinages together as well.

So I guess the answer is yes, but they are studied as Celtic tribes.

Try this for a start:

http://www.webpersonal.net/jrr/index.htm

Just a link with some bibliography regarding Celtiberian coins:

LINK



Jose

Wow, that's quite a detailed list

I'd love to see some from the tribes allied with Carthage.