From the early 5th fifth century BC, the Celtic tribes ruled much of Europe. They clashed with the Etruscans, Romans, and Greeks in wars, and fought as mercenaries under Philip II and Alexander the Great when they first encountered coins as payments. Soon, the Celts began to strike their own coins in the beginning of the 3rd century BC. They initially issued copies of Greek, Roman and other currencies and later modified the foreign designs according to their own taste and fashion.
Alexander the Great was the legendary king of the Hellenistic Kingdom of Macedon. In just 10 years from his ascension to the throne, he built one of the largest empires of the Ancient World, as his kingdom stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River. His coins were spread all over the kingdom on his campaigns. The reputation and popularity guaranteed a wide acceptance of his coins as trade money at the time. As such, the coinage of Alexander the Great was a very popular design used by the Celtic tribes when they started striking their own coins.
