Namnetes or Veneti (Armorica) - AV quarter stater

Namnetes or Veneti (Armorica, Nantes or Vannes area).
AV quarter stater of the hippophore type, late 2nd - early 1st century B.C.
Human head right, the hair with small flamed wicks. On the cheek, a beaded circle.
Human-headed horse right, driven by a charioteer holding the reins and a vertical shaft. Below half-lenght facing figure, both arms extended, seeming to support the horse and therefore called "hippophore genius".
1.82 g. LT 6724; Scheers BSFN 37 (1982) 6, pl. p. 183.13; Barandon et alii, Gallic gold (1994), pl. VII, 10; Dobrée museum, the Gauls, the margins of Brittany (1999) Fig. 181; DT 2193 (same reverse). Extremely rare. Ligh double struck otherwise extremely fine


On some examples, the beaded circle on the cheek is a countermark.

The hippophore was considered by the authors as the mint mark adopted by the Namnetes to which all issues are assigned, although the map of ditribution of provenances overlaps almost exactly that of the emissions attributed to the Veneti (Barandon et alii, L’or gaulois (1994) map 1, p. 156 and 4, p. 211).

Very rare, the golden divisions with hippophore are not specifically related to any classes of staters.