Enigmatic Issue

221, Lot: 333. Estimate $200. Sold for $625. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

CELTIC, Northern Gaul. Uncertain tribe. Circa 58-50 BC. AV ¼ Stater (11mm, 1.33 g). Blank / Rooted tree (trophy?) with bar each side; rosette and pellets-in-annulets above, three connected pellets-in-annulets and bent line below. D&T 254; cf. Scheers 120-5. Good VF, faint scratches. Very rare.

This coin belongs to a series that is well deserving of serious research. Both English and French scholars have contributed to the publication of numerous varieties, but one really needs a full synthesis of current knowledge. The issuing tribe is uncertain, but the Ambiani, Morini, Cantiaci, and Trinovantes have all been postulated. The reverse type is variously described as a Celtic tree or a Roman trophy, and the numerous obverse symbols (line of pellets, pellet-in-ring, eye, floret, digamma, various letters and monograms) have not been properly categorized.