Ancient Boii Ant Obol

This is an example of a small coin produced by Celtic tribes situated in the general regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and northern Austria some time in either the first or second centuries B.C. This is known as an Ameise or Ant type. The obverse features a wing with curling ornaments while the reverse features an ant with a pellet in a diamond to the right. Ants are very rarely found on coins. The only other location known to produce the image of an ant on coins was the city of Pantikapaion in Cimmerian Bosporos, only these coins were even smaller tetartemorions of only 0.17 grams in size while the Ant obols of the Boii were around 1.05 grams. As today ants are renown for their abilities in large scale cooperation, structure, and organization, the same was likely true in the past. In the Greek classic, 'The Ant and the Grasshopper' from 'Aesop's Fables', the ant is also viewed as an industrial insect who spends the summer storing up food for the winter while the grasshopper (originally a cicada) is singing and dancing.