Potin with rafters Type Ib

The Bellovaci were among the most militarily formidable of the Belgic tribes — Caesar singled them out specifically in the Gallic Wars, claiming they could field 100,000 warriors and considered themselves superior to all other Gauls. Their territory centered on what is now the Beauvais region of northern France, and this potin type circulates precisely within the turbulent decades following Caesar's campaigns, when tribal minting activity continued even as Roman administrative pressure increased. The potin alloy itself, a cast tin-lead bronze, was a distinctly Gaulish solution to silver shortages.