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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| Diameter | 20.4 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A biga (two-horse chariot) driven to the right above an exergue line, guided by a charioteer. The chariot wheel is positioned beneath the horses' tails, and a severed human head facing forward is depicted between the legs of the horses, a characteristically Celtic iconographic element symbolising martial prowess and cult significance. The composition fills the flan with dynamic, stylised energy typical of Carnutes gold coinage. |
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| Mintage | ND (200 BC - 100 BC) |
| 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.