Throughout the pre-Hellenistic period, Kelenderis staters depict a rider on the obverse and a goat on the reverse. Although their basic iconography remained unchanged, several features evolved: after the earliest phase of the coinage, the forepart of the goat was replaced by the whole animal; the orientations of the obverse and reverse types varied; the artistic style developed gradually; and in late issues, a rider seated on horseback replaced the dismounting rider.

All four combinations of obverse and reverse orientations occur on these coins: left–left, left–right, right–left, and right–right. The orientation of the obverse type appears to reflect chronological development. Initially, the horse and rider faced left (Groups 1 and 2), but probably before the end of the 5th century BC, the orientation changed to the right (Group 3). This change may mark the beginning of a new phase of Kelenderis coinage. Coins from other mints depicting dismounting riders1 offer no clue as to the reason for this change, since the scene appears in both left- and right-facing versions.

No comparable chronological pattern is apparent on the reverse. During the earliest phase of the coinage, the goat faced left exclusively (Group 1), but later both orientations were used (Groups 2 and 3). Both reverse orientations occur even among issues that can be assigned stylistically to the late phase of the coinage. For example, Types 3.6 and 3.17 were struck from the same obverse die, although their reverse types face opposite directions.2