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Quadrans CONTOVTOS
| Issuer | Pictones |
|---|---|
| Year | 40 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Bronze |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Reverse displaying a stylized bird, most likely an eagle or corvid, depicted standing and facing left with wings partially spread, rendered in the schematic Gaulish artistic convention. A dotted border or beaded circle frames the central device, a hallmark of Pictones bronze coinage. The field shows additional abstract elements possibly representing a branch or vegetal motif to the right of the bird. The overall design reflects the indigenous Gaulish coinage tradition, blending zoomorphic imagery with decorative geometric elements typical of late La Tène period bronze issues. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | ND (-40) |
| Additional information |
The Pictones occupied the Atlantic coast of Gaul between the Loire and the Charente — roughly modern Poitou — and maintained a distinct coinage tradition even as Roman influence compressed the autonomy of neighboring tribes during the late Republican period. The CONTOVTOS inscription likely identifies a magistrate or chieftain, a naming convention the Pictones used with some consistency across their bronze issues, though the individual himself is otherwise archaeologically invisible.
Small bronzes of this type circulated at the lowest transactional level in tribal economies and are frequently recovered in oppida excavations with heavy wear or deliberate breakage, suggesting use as fractional currency in local markets rather than in inter-tribal exchange.