Catalog
Gold Stater with facing head
| Issuer | Carnutes |
|---|---|
| Year | 200 BC - 100 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Laureate head of Apollo facing right, rendered in the Celtic stylistic tradition derived from Macedonian prototypes. The hair is depicted as a series of large, rounded pellets and flowing locks arranged around the crown, with a prominent laurel wreath. A triple-pellet ornament is visible at the ear, and the facial features — strong brow, prominent nose, and full chin — are rendered with a bold, slightly abstracted Gaulish aesthetic. The flan is irregular and slightly convex, typical of hammered Celtic gold coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Carnutes occupied a territory centered on what is now the Beauce plain, with Autricum (modern Chartres) among their principal settlements. Their facing-head staters represent a significant departure from the profile portraits that dominate Gaulish coinage of this period — a stylistic choice that appears deliberately local rather than derivative of Macedonian prototypes. Caesar later identified the Carnutes as holding a sacred forest that served as the annual gathering point for the druidic order across all of Gaul, suggesting a priestly-political elite with both the wealth and the authority to commission distinctive coinage.
The DT 2013 attribution places this piece within a relatively tight typological group. Die studies on Carnutes facing-head issues remain incomplete.