World of the Celts Collection

World of the Celts Collection: Three Iron Age Originals, One Queen in Proof

Hardly any culture in Europe designed its money as distinctively as the Celts. No ruler portraits, no dates, no legends in the Roman sense – instead abstracted heads, galloping horses, crosses and orbs. This collection brings together three hand-struck Celtic silver coins from the 2nd and 1st century BC with a modern fine silver coin dedicated to the most famous Celtic woman of antiquity. Three pieces were genuine legal tender. One is a work of art. Together they tell a story that stretches from Languedoc across the Bavarian-Swabian Alpine foreland to the Eastern Alps and Britain.

These four coins are included

• 1 oz Silver Boudicca 2022 Proof – 31.1 g fine silver 999, worldwide mintage of only 2,000 pieces, Proof with colour finishing, face value 2 dollars (Niue), struck by the New Zealand Mint, delivered in a case with certificate of authenticity.

• Silver Drachm of the Celts, 1st century BC, tribe of the Volcae Tectosages – 2.3 g, approx. 12 mm, hand-struck cross drachm from southern Gaul.

• Silver Quinarius of the Celtic Vindelici, approx. 1st century BC, Alpine foreland between Lake Constance and the Inn – 2 g, approx. 12 mm, so-called "Büschelquinar" (tuft quinarius).

• Celtic Tetradrachm Pearl Diadem and Horse of Epona, approx. 2nd–1st century BC, Eastern Noricum – 10.8 g, 22 mm, the heaviest piece in the collection.

The combined gross weight of all four coins is 46.2 g. The three ancient coins are circulated currency without standardised fineness – for hand-struck coins that are two thousand years old, there simply was no fineness standard. The Boudicca, on the other hand, offers classic 999 fine silver.

Boudicca: the woman Rome feared

The second issue in the "Women in History" series depicts the queen of the Iceni in vivid colour finishing, with the scene behind her showing her leading her troops into battle. After Rome's exploitation of her tribe, she rose up against the occupiers around 60 AD – the uprising cost tens of thousands of lives and brought Rome to the brink of withdrawal from the island. The reverse bears the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley along with the face value and year of issue. Mirror finish, colour, case, numbered certificate: a collector's coin exactly as one would wish for.

Volcae Tectosages: the cross drachm from southern Gaul

A flan barely larger than a fingernail – and a prime example of Celtic abstraction. The model came from the Greek polis of Rhoda: a woman's head on the front, a rose on the back. Over generations, the Celts transformed this into an angular head that French scholarship calls "tête cubiste", and a striking cross with symbols in its angles. Such drachms are therefore technically known as monnaies à la croix. They were struck in the region around Tolosa, present-day Toulouse.

Vindelici: Celtic small silver from the Alpine foreland

The Vindelici were a group of Celtic tribes between Lake Constance and the Inn; their most important oppidum was located near Manching on the Danube. Their quinarius follows the Roman denarius at half the size. On the reverse, a horse trots along, while the obverse shows a head that became increasingly abstracted into a whirl of tufts over successive minting periods – hence the collector's name "Büschelquinar" (tuft quinarius). In 15 BC, Tiberius and Drusus subjugated the Vindelici. Their name survives in Augusta Vindelicum: Augsburg.

Eastern Noricum: pearl diadem and the horse of Epona

The heavyweight of the group. The obverse shows a strongly stylised head with a three-row pearl diadem, derived from Macedonian-Greek models. On the reverse, a horse strides forward – traditionally associated with Epona, the Celtic goddess whose name derives from the Gaulish word epos ("horse"). Although the Norici possessed rich gold deposits, they minted in silver for trade reasons. With the annexation by Rome, these tetradrachms disappeared from circulation by around 15 BC at the latest. What exists today comes from ground finds and hoards.

Gold and silver are humanity's oldest currencies – they have outlived all others. The empires that struck these three coins are long gone. The metal still rests in your hand.

Why this collection is special

• Contrast with concept: ancient circulated currency alongside a modern Proof coin – monetary history and coin artistry in one selection.

• Three one-of-a-kind pieces: each Celtic coin was placed by hand between two dies and struck. No flan is perfectly round, and no patina matches another.

• Strictly limited: the Boudicca with just 2,000 pieces worldwide, while the ancient pieces are by nature impossible to reproduce.

• Substance instead of promises: physical silver as a tangible asset, valued as an inflation hedge and crisis protection.

• Value shipping: insured and discreet delivery.

Ancient hand-struck coin or modern bullion coin?

Bullion classics such as the Maple Leaf or Vienna Philharmonic rely on standardised fineness and a slim premium – ideal for building up silver weight in a predictable way. The three Celtic coins operate on a different level: their appeal comes from age, rarity and cultural significance, not from metal content alone. Compared to Roman denarii or Greek owl drachms, they score points with their Central European origin and an almost modern-looking visual language. It should be noted that centring, toning and preservation vary more strongly than with series-minted coins. For many collectors, this is precisely where the value lies. The Boudicca, in turn, brings flawless quality, a clear fine weight and a manageable mintage – the perfect complement.

Condition: circulated money with honest traces

These pieces are circulated legal tender and bear corresponding traces: darker patina, individual centring, nicks, wear, and in places weaker legend details. This is precisely what makes them appealing. Since the year of minting, mint and reverse variant can vary, the delivered specimen will differ from the illustration – you receive an original, not a mass-produced item. We therefore ask for your understanding that the image in the shop serves as an example and may individually differ from the delivered item in terms of appearance and condition due to historical circumstances.

Who this collection is suited for

For newcomers to Celtic numismatics who don't want to piece together a collection one coin at a time. For experienced collectors of the "History" series who welcome tribal coinage from three regions in one go. And for anyone who wants not merely to weigh precious metal, but to understand it. Since the year of minting, mint and reverse variant vary among the ancient pieces, the delivered specimen may differ from the illustration – you receive originals, not mass-produced items. As a gift with real conversation value, this collection is hard to beat.