Aulerci Eburovices / Carnutes. Class I bronze coin “derived from the gold Eburovices types,” var. 2 ND (end of the Gallic Wars and pre-Augustan period).

LT.7034 - DT.2460 - IDF CAR 19.; Bronze - 3.47 g - 16.5 mm - 9 h
MP specimen No. 110 in the book “Surréelles Monnaies Gauloises,” by Samuel Gouet and Marc Petit—acquired from A. Eleb at the Louvre des Antiquaires in 1996.
Vigorously struck with finely detailed reliefs, though on a slightly undersized blank. Dark patina with reddish areas. Very Good to Superb.
As with other homotypic bronzes of the Aulerci hemistater, the traditional attribution points to this same tribe. However, while var. 1 appears to be reattributed to the Parisii, var. 2 would be attributed to the Carnutes (as, indeed, are the examples of Class II “derived from Belgian types”). For this specific type, B. Foucray acknowledges that the minor differences do not justify the creation of separate classes. With an average weight of 2.70 g, this is a lightweight bronze coin. As early as 1985, following the excavations at Mézières-sur-Seine (which yielded more than half of the coins of this type), the existence of a local mint belonging to a political entity distinct from the Aulerci Eburovices and the Parisii had been proposed. According to B. Foucray, this bronze coin should now be definitively attributed to the Carnutes (see pp. 362–366).