Catalog
Bronze with bird in the temple
| Issuer | Carnutes |
|---|---|
| Year | 40 BC - 30 BC |
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| Composition | Bronze |
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| Obverse description | Stylized male head facing right, rendered in the La Tène Celtic artistic tradition with schematic facial features including a prominent eye rendered as a pellet, and flowing hair depicted as parallel striations and lobe-like projections framing the face. The neck is adorned with a torc, a characteristic Celtic ornamental element. The legend PIXTILOS appears in the right field in Latin characters, identifying the issuing authority or a tribal magistrate. The flan is irregular and slightly ragged at the edges, consistent with hand-struck Celtic bronze coinage of the period. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Carnutes occupied the territory around modern Chartres and Orléans, and held particular religious significance among the Gallic tribes — Caesar identifies their territory as the annual gathering point for Druidic assemblies from across Gaul. This coin was struck in the decades immediately following the Roman conquest, when Carnutes political authority had been effectively broken but local minting continued under reduced autonomy.
The bronze series attributed to this period shows marked stylistic degradation compared to earlier Carnutes issues, a pattern consistent across many Belgic and Celtic mints operating in the shadow of Roman administrative pressure after 52 BC.