PREVIEW: ANCIENT BRITISH HOARDS: 18 SEPTEMBER

One of the more intriguing coins from the Helmingham Hoard is the Denarius struck by the moneyer Lucius Hostilius Saserna in Rome after 48 BC.

The obverse shows the head of a Gallic captive, with Gallic shield behind. It is thought to have been Vercingetorix, the Gallic king and chief of the Arverni tribe, who led the final failed revolt against the Romans at the end of Julius Caesar’s Gallic Wars.

 

The reverse shows a chariot being driven by its charioteer with a warrior standing left atop the chariot throwing a spear with the right hand. The Denarius was one of a number struck to commemorates Caesar’s Gallic campaigns 58-50 BC.

What makes it intriguing is the decision to depict a captive rather than the conqueror on the obverse. While a precedent did exist by which Rome depicted her defeated enemies on coinage, it is considered unusual that Julius Caesar would have chosen to have a specific image of a fallen enemy in place of his own image on his coinage.

This fine and rare coin is estimated at £200-300.