Catalog
Potin with large laureate head DOCI
| Issuer | Sequani |
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| Year | 80 BC - 50 BC |
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| Composition | Potin |
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| Obverse description | Stylized Celtic head facing left, rendered in the characteristic schematic Gaulish artistic tradition. The effigy wears a laureate helmet, its surface articulated with decorative Celtic motifs. The legend DOCI is incorporated into the design of the helmet as an ornamental element rather than a conventional epigraphic inscription. The facial features are abstracted, with a prominent eye rendered as a pellet or circular boss. The surrounding field is plain, consistent with the cast potin production technique of the Sequani tribe. |
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| Reverse description | A schematically rendered quadruped, likely a boar or horse, depicted in left-facing profile and executed in the bold, stylized Celtic artistic manner typical of Sequani coinage. The animal's tail is prominently curled upward and terminates in a fine point, a distinctive typological feature of this series. The body is rendered in high relief with simplified musculature, and pellets or small globular ornaments are distributed in the field around the figure. The overall composition fills the flan with characteristic Gaulish asymmetry resulting from the cast production process. |
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The Sequani occupied the territory of modern Franche-Comté and were among the more politically active Gallic tribes of the late Republic period — they famously invited Ariovistus and his Germanic forces across the Rhine around 71 BC to gain leverage against the Aedui, a decision that ultimately contributed to Caesar's justification for intervention in Gaul. Potin coinage of this type was cast rather than struck, a production method increasingly marginal by this period even among Gallic issuers.
The DOCI inscription is generally read as a magistrate name or tribal authority marker, though its precise administrative significance remains debated among Celtic numismatists.