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Iberian Peninsula, Drachm

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Iberian Peninsula, Drachm (obverse) Iberian Peninsula, Drachm (reverse)

This coin is very rare indeed. All we know is that it was minted in Ilerda, nowadays the city of Lleida in Spain. The issue is Iberian and shows on the obverse the head of a woman, perhaps the Greek goddess Persephone (or her mother Demeter). The reverse depicts Pegasus, the winged horse, above another animal – a dog or a wolf, maybe?

Ilerda was an important center in Celtiberian times. It was the capital of the Ilergetes, who had become rich through trade. In the 3rd century their chief was Indíbil, who had to fight the incursions of both the Carthaginians and the Romans.

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