Horses Take the Reins at Auction
From Lunar New Year issues to ancient Celtic staters, horse motifs are driving a powerful design trend—and strong auction results—in 2026.
Courtesy of The New York Sale/Biddr.
One of the biggest trends in coin design for 2026 is the use of horse motifs. Often portrayed galloping, neighing, or simply with the wind blowing through their manes, many of these coins featuring horses have been inspired by the Lunar New Year, as the equine creature is the 2026 zodiac. Read more about horses on Lunar New Year coins in the February 2026 issue of World Coin News.
Although horses are not typical subjects for recently minted coins, this year’s fad is nothing new.
Horses are particularly common on Celtic Iron Age coins, often depicted in motion or mounted with a rider, surrounded by abstract patterns of stars, dots, and swirls. As noted in a Dover Museum & Bronze Age Boat Gallery Facebook post about these coins, horse motifs are among the earliest designs on European Celtic coinage and are linked to a wider Celtic culture known as La Tène. There are some questions about the exact role of the horse in these societies, with the Gallery theorizing that they may not have been fully domesticated but were at times used during ceremonies to pull chariots, holding a status of both work and prestige.
Courtesy of Chris Rudd.
As mints have been going wild with horse motifs for new coins, auction houses have galloped into serious sales with Celtic equine coinage. At the January 13–15 New York Sale—the official auction of the New York International Numismatic Convention—a gold stater was offered. Originating from the Ambiani, a northeast Gaul tribe from the modern-day Picardy region, the circa 100–50 B.C. issue shows a disjointed horse with surrounding crescent and pellet ornaments. The Gallic Wars-era issue sold for $1,100 at the auction.
Days later, on January 18, the Auction 204 event was held at Chris Rudd. For sale were Celtic staters from throughout the British Celtic diaspora, showing symbolic animal motifs. One example was a horse with a rider on a silver Cantiaci (Southeast England) “Eppillus” Carnyx issue, which earned £1,700. Graded near extremely fine and extremely rare, there are only 12 others that are recorded.
Courtesy of Heritage Auctions
Horses on hammered staters continued at Heritage Auction’s January 26 Spotlight: Great Britain World Coins Showcase Auction #61586. Highlights included AV staters from the Catuvellauni and Trinovantes tribes (modern-day Southeast England) featured in the A. Pugnus Maximus Collection by Mandy Farris Woods. All showing a horse mid-leap, the staters sold for well into the $1,000s.
More information about the featured sales is at thenewyorksale.com, celticcoins.com, and ha.com.
