LOWER DANUBE. Imitations of Thasos. Late 2nd-1st Centuries BC. Tetradrachm (Silver, 34 mm, 16.24 g, 12 h). Celticized head of Dionysos to left, wearing wreath of ivy and fruit. Rev. Celticized Herakles standing facing, his head surrounded by pellets, holding club in his right hand; legend degraded to dashes and zigzag lines. Dembski -. Flesche -. Lanz -. Lukanc -, vgl. pl. 143-144. OTA Class IV. A very rare variety, and of great numismatic interest. Plugged hole and with some scratches and minor stress marks, otherwise, about very fine.



What looks like a filled hole is actually a substantial silver inlay, likely hammered in antiquity. It was intended to increase the coin’s weight. Since many Celtic imitations of Thasian tetradrachms were underweight, the inlay was likely meant to bring the piece up to the Attic weight standard, validating it for circulation - presumably for a Greek monetary system.

This makes it an extremely rare and fascinating case of increasing rather than reducing the weight of an already minted and circulating coin. Two similar examples are known from the Lanz collection (977 and 987).