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Obol with helmeted head and horse
| Issuer | Cadurci (Gallia Narbonensis) |
|---|---|
| Year | 200 BC - 1 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Stylized helmeted head facing right, rendered in the schematic Celtic artistic tradition with bold, angular relief lines evoking the helmet crest and facial features. The surrounding field is decorated with a granular or grain-pattern texture, characteristic of Cadurci coinage. The design is executed in a distinctly abstract manner typical of Gaulish silver fractional coinage, with the helmet indicated by sweeping curved lines. No legend or inscription is present. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A horse walking to the right, depicted in the schematic Celtic style with elongated, simplified limbs and body. Above the horse appears a pointed ringlet or annulet motif, while a lyre symbol is placed between the horse's legs, a recurrent emblematic device on Cadurci issues. The composition fills the flan, with no legend or inscription. The overall rendering is characteristic of the abstract, symbol-rich iconography of Gaulish fractional silver coinage. |
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| Additional information |
The Cadurci, a Gaulish tribe occupying the Quercy plateau in what is now the Lot department of southern France, produced silver fractions of this type during the prolonged Roman absorption of the region — a process that accelerated dramatically after Caesar's Gallic Wars, in which the Cadurci were among the resisting tribes. Their principal oppidum, Uxellodunum, was the site of the last major Gaulish holdout in 51 BC, after which Caesar notoriously had the hands of the surviving defenders cut off.
At 0.2 g, these pieces were struck at the absolute lower limit of practical silver coinage. The Saves reference corpus remains the primary classification tool for southwestern Gaulish silver of this type.