The Santoni were a Gaulish people occupying the territory around the lower Charente river — the region that would become Saintonge and give its name, eventually, to the city of Saintes. Their coinage belongs to the broader Armorican tradition but shows clear Pictonean influence, reflecting the fluid political alignments of western Gaul in the final century before Roman consolidation. Caesar's campaigns through the region between 58 and 51 BC almost certainly disrupted or ended production entirely.
Electrum staters of this type are notoriously variable in gold content, ranging from near-pure gold to heavily debased issues approaching bronze.
The Santoni were a Gaulish people occupying the territory around the lower Charente river — the region that would become Saintonge and give its name, eventually, to the city of Saintes. Their coinage belongs to the broader Armorican tradition but shows clear Pictonean influence, reflecting the fluid political alignments of western Gaul in the final century before Roman consolidation. Caesar's campaigns through the region between 58 and 51 BC almost certainly disrupted or ended production entirely.
Electrum staters of this type are notoriously variable in gold content, ranging from near-pure gold to heavily debased issues approaching bronze.