Heritage World Coin Auctions > CSNS Signature Sale 3115 | Auction date: 8 May 2024 |
Lot number: 32002 Price realized: This lot is for sale in an upcoming auction - Bid on this lot | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on |
Lot description: Ancients NORTHERN GAUL. Aulerci Cenomani. Ca. 150-50 BC. AV stater (21mm, 7.54 gm, 1h). NGC Choice VF 4/5 - 3/5, marks. Celticized head of Apollo right, crescent-shaped locks towards the face, and flamed locks towards the back / Devolved warrior advancing to right in chariot pulled by human-headed horse; slain warrior lying right below. De la Tour 6823. Delestrée & Tache 2143. Sharp and bright with a clearly defined portrait on the human-headed horse. The Aulerci Cenomani, also referred to simply as the Cenomani, were a Gallic tribe dwelling between the Seine and Loire rivers in Normandy; these two large rivers allowed for significant trade and cultural exchange with the peoples far south towards the Mediterranean. The Cenomani were mentioned by Roman writers like Julius Caesar in his Commentaries on the Gallic War and Pliny the Elder in his Natural History. They were part of the Aulerci, a larger confederation of tribes spread out across Gaul. In 52 BC the Cenomani contributed a large military contingent to support the Gallic king Vercingetorix in thwarting Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul. Their capital town was Vindinum, a Celtic name meaning "sacred citadel", but it would be renamed Civitas Cenomanorum after its subjugation to Roman rule in 47 BC. From there the name became Celmans, and now the city is known simply as Le Mans, in modern France. This gold coin is the same type found in the Trésor des Sablons, a coin hoard from the 1st century BC of over 150 Cenomani staters discovered in Le Mans. It is thought to be a Celticized imitation of the gold stater of Philip II of Macedon, which depicts the head of the youthful god Apollo on the obverse and a charioteer on the reverse. The reverse of the Gallic stater notably has an androcephalic horse-a common motif employed by Gallic die-carvers-alluding to either the Hellenistic centaur or Epona, the Gallo-Roman goddess of horses. https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/celtic/ancients-northern-gaul-aulerci-cenomani-ca-150-50-bc-av-stater-21mm-754-gm-1h-ngc-choice-vf-4-5-3-5-mark/a/3115-32002.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3115-05082024 HID02906262019 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved |