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1/4 Stater
| Issuer | Morini |
|---|---|
| Year | 70 BC - 50 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/4 Stater |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Entirely uninscribed and devoid of design, the obverse presents a plain, convex field characteristic of Celtic quarter staters struck by the Morini tribe. The surface exhibits the typical concavity resulting from the hammering process, with no devices, legends, or decorative elements of any kind. This blank obverse is a deliberate typological feature of this issue, consistent with the broader tradition of anepigraphic Belgic gold coinage of the late La Tène period. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse displays a boldly rendered composition in the La Tène abstract style, featuring a stylised oak branch with visible foliage rendered as angular, deeply struck forms across the upper field. A curved sickle-like element occupies the central area, flanked by multiple annulets and pellet-in-ring motifs scattered across the field, elements characteristic of Morini tribal coinage. The design is executed with confident, deeply incuse hammer strokes producing a high-relief, plastic effect typical of Belgic goldsmithing. No legend or inscription is present, consistent with the anepigraphic nature of this tribal issue. The flan is irregular in shape with a slightly ragged edge, as is typical of hand-struck Celtic gold coinage of this period. |
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| Additional information |
The Morini occupied the coastal marshlands of what is now the Pas-de-Calais and western Flanders — territory Caesar described as the most remote of all Gallic peoples, pushed to the literal edge of the known world. Their gold coinage is among the most abstract of all Belgic issues, the designs having drifted so far from their Macedonian prototypes through successive copying that the original figurative elements are nearly unrecognizable. The DT#253 variety designation signals meaningful die differences within an already rare type; Morini emissions in any fraction are uncommon, and quarter staters especially so.