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1/4 Stater with flowering branch
| Issuer | Carnutes |
|---|---|
| Year | 100 BC - 52 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Highly stylized Celtic effigy facing left, rendered in the characteristic La Tène artistic idiom. The hair is depicted as a series of bold, deeply engraved curvilinear locks radiating from the crown. A prominent flowering branch with rounded pellet-tipped blooms fills the upper field, serving as a distinctive tribal emblem. Facial features are rendered in abstracted form, with rounded pellets denoting the eye and ear. The overall composition reflects the dynamic, schematized Celtic artistic tradition rather than naturalistic Hellenistic portraiture. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A harnessed horse advancing to the left occupies the central field, rendered in the stylized Celtic manner. A charioteer or driver figure is depicted above the croup of the horse, reduced to schematic form as was typical of Gaulish coinage. A balled or pellet-tipped cross symbol is positioned between the legs of the horse, serving as a recurring emblematic device among Carnutes coinage. The composition is dynamic and fills the flan, with minimal exergual space. No legend or inscription is present. |
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| Additional information |
The Carnutes occupied the territory around present-day Chartres and Orléans, and held a position of particular religious authority among Gaulish tribes — Caesar identifies their territory as the annual gathering place for druids from across Gaul. Their coinage was struck through a period of mounting Roman pressure that culminated in 52 BC, when the tribe joined Vercingetorix's coalition. The destruction of Cenabum (Orléans) by Caesar's forces that year almost certainly ended production of this type.
DT 2559 is a fractional issue, suggesting a functioning local economy that required small denomination exchange well into the final decades of Gaulish independence.