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Drachm with flower or trefoil
| Issuer | Sotiates |
|---|---|
| Year | 100 BC - 56 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Central globule surrounded by three lunula-shaped petals arranged in a trefoil or stylised floral motif, forming an abstracted flower design. Two small globules are positioned beneath each lunula, evenly distributed around the central boss. The design is rendered in the characteristic La Tène Celtic artistic style, with curvilinear forms filling the flat, irregular flan. The field is plain with no inscription or legend. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A balled cross divides the reverse into four quarters, with the arms extending to the coin's edge in a cruciform arrangement. Three of the quarters contain lunules or crescent-shaped pellets, while a balled axe motif occupies one of the remaining quarters. The design is executed in the abstract geometric style typical of late Gaulish coinage of the Sotiates tribe, with no inscription present. The overall composition is bold and symmetrical despite the irregular flan. |
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| Additional information |
The Sotiates were an Aquitanian tribe whose territory centered on what is now the Gers department of southwestern France. They are best known from Caesar's account of their fierce resistance in 56 BC, when their chieftain Adiatunnus led a sortie during the siege of their oppidum — a last-ditch counter-attack that nearly broke the Roman lines before the town ultimately fell to Crassus. That conquest effectively ended independent Sotiate coinage.
Aquitanian silver of this type circulated in a region culturally distinct from Celtic Gaul proper, showing stronger Iberian monetary influence than the La Tène traditions dominant further north.