Nomos 2

Sequani or Helvetii. Late 2nd - first quarter of the 1st century BC. Quarter stater (Gold, 1.81 g 6). Male head to right with hair in confused locks; below neck, leaf; around, border of closed crescents. Rev. Remains of a biga to left, but devolved into a single horse with a driver seemingly flying left above and a wheel with remains of a chariot car to right; to left, uncertain creature (perhaps a bird) standing right; below, crescent with rays within it above simple thunderbolt. De la Tour 8928 = DT 3077 (and DT 3078 for the distinctive style of the obverse). Extremely rare. Has been rounded for mounting, otherwise, about very fine.

This is an extraordinary item, which presumably only survived from ancient times thanks to having once been part of a piece of jewelry. The head, which is based on that of Apollo but has no trace of a laurel wreath in his hair (though there is a leaf under his neck) is surrounded by a most unusual border of closed crescents, only found on the so-called Crainvilliers au croissant type of gold pieces (full and quarter staters), which come from eastern France on the border with the territory of the Helvetii.