Catalog
Potin 'Type of Mâlain'
| Issuer | Aedui |
|---|---|
| Year | 100 BC - 20 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 2.7 g |
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| Obverse description | Highly schematised and stylised head facing right, rendered in the characteristic Gaulish Celtic manner with strongly abstracted facial features. The face is delineated by a series of raised pellets and curved ridges, with the hair suggested by a fan-like arrangement of incised lines radiating from the crown. The overall design is deeply rooted in the La Tène artistic tradition, with naturalistic detail entirely subordinated to geometric and ornamental convention. No legend or inscription is present in the field. |
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| Reverse description | Stylised boar or animal figure advancing to the right, rendered in a highly schematic manner consistent with late Gaulish potin coinage of the Aedui. The body of the animal is indicated by a broad raised mass, with legs suggested by short linear projections below. Scattered pellets and irregular relief elements populate the field around the figure, characteristic of the debased artistic style of this series. No inscription or legend is present. The flan is irregular and shows typical casting characteristics of potin production. |
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| Additional information |
The Aedui occupied a privileged position among Gallic tribes — Caesar called them "brothers and kinsmen of the Roman people" — yet they continued striking their own coinage well into the period of Roman consolidation. This potin type, associated with the oppidum at Mâlain (Mediolanum Aulercorum is a separate confusion; Mâlain sits in Aeduan territory proper), circulated through precisely the decades when Roman denarii were flooding Gaul and displacing indigenous issues.
Potin itself — a cast leaded bronze alloy — was the Aedui's preferred medium for small-denomination exchange, suggesting a robust internal market economy rather than purely prestige-driven coinage. LT.8228 represents one of the later die groupings in the series.