CENTRAL EUROPE. Vindelici. 1st century BC. Coin Die for a Stater Obverse (Iron, 48x24 mm, 239.79 g), 'Regenbogenschüsselchen, Leerer Blattkranz’ type. Wreath formed of two branches going in opposite directions and with a pellet at each end (all incuse). B. Ziegaus: Die Werkzeuge der keltischen Münzmeister, in: Michael Alram, Heinz Emmerig and Reinhard Harreither (eds.): Akten des 5. Österreichischen Numismatikertages, Enns, 21.-22. Juni 2012 (Forschungen in Lauriacum 15). Enns 2014, p. 3-29 (general) and p. 18, 2 (for a very similar obverse die for a 'Blattkranz mit Vogelkopf' stater). For the coin type, cf. Dembski 456-457, Flesche 312-313, Karl 277-283, LT 9423 and SLM 1080-1081. Unpublished and apparently unique, a highly important discovery. Peripheral corrosion and rust, otherwise, extremely fine.


Surviving Celtic coin dies rank among the rarest artefacts of La Tène numismatics. Ziegaus emphasizes that although well over one hundred Celtic dies from Eastern Europe are now known, examples from what is now Germany, Austria, and Switzerland remain vastly rarer. On present evidence, this die for a Regenbogenschüsselchen is the first recorded specimen of the 'Leerer Blattkranz' type and is therefore of great numismatic importance.

It is especially close to the Karlstein 'Regenbogenschüsselchen' die (Ziegaus 2014, p. 18, fig. 2), which displays the bird’s head familiar from Vindelician coinage, set within a divided wreath (the 'Blattkranz mit Vogelkopf' type). That find is particularly important as a rare point of contact between the iconography of Vindelician coinage and the actual tools used in its production.

The present specimen carries this evidence further, providing the same direct link for the 'Leerer Blattkranz' type itself. It thus offers direct evidence for the technical side of Vindelician gold coin production, which otherwise must largely be reconstructed from the struck coins alone. Ziegaus further stresses that there was no fixed formal canon for Celtic dies; even tools bearing the same design could vary considerably in size, construction, and material. It is precisely this heterogeneity that enhances the importance of every newly recorded specimen.