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Here is a remarkable gold
stater, struck around 75-50 BC
by Abudos, ruler of the
Bituriges Cubi who occupied
Berry (central France), part of
Aquitania Prima. Their
capital was at modern Bourges
(Roman Avaricum) whose
name is a contraction of 'Bituriges'.
This gold stater has one of the
strongest and most distinctive
male heads seen on Gaulish coins
and a magnificent reverse design
to match it: a victorious
spread-winged eagle standing
proudly on a galloping horse,
with a magic triad of
ringed-pellets beneath it –
fitting imagery for folk who
called themselves ‘kings of the
world’. The ruler who issued
this splendid gold coin was
named Abudos ‘of the river’
(which river is uncertain, but
it might be the Cher, Latin
Cares). This is the only
example I’ve seen where the name
has been reduced to ABV (you can
see the top of the letter A
under the horse’s head and the
upper part of the letter B to
the left of the three rings).
We've shown this coin to Dr
Daphne Nash, author of
Settlement & Coinage in Central
Gaul c.200-50 BC (1978), and
she confirms that "it does
indeed seem to be a variant
legend, intermediate between
ABVDOS and nothing at all. It's
a super portrait too. I'm so
pleased to have seen it for
real." (pers. comm. 5 August
2009). Chris Rudd September List.
7.9.09 |
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