Very important Gallic Celtic silver Quinarius depicting Morrigan (Morgan le Fay of the Arthurian legends) Late 2nd to 1st century BC
Tribal origin: This type has not been firmly assigned to an exact tribe. They are found in Loire Valley, but the style suggest an eastern Armorican issue.
Denomination: Silver Quinarius, or Silver Unit (the French call this denomination a Quinarius and the English just a silver Unit)
Date: Late 2nd to early 1st century BC
Reference: Does not appear to be published in any major reference, but three similar examples have appeared at auction in the past few years
Size: 12.2 x 12.3 mm Weight: 0.88 grams
Grade: Fine/VF, obverse somewhat off-center
Obverse: Stylized head right, with a very coarse hair style. The lower part of the face is off the flan.
Reverse: Female figure (Morgan le Fay) riding a horse right, holding a sword or short spear (on the coin it looks like a sword, but the rounded "pommel" is more like a celtic spear butt than sword pommel of that period).
This coin was fully researched by John Hooker (Author of Celtic Improvisations, and owner of the CELTIC COIN INDEX ON LINE). His comments follow:
Eastern Armorica to Loire Valley
AR quinarius or quarter, 0.9g
Late 2nd cent to early 1st cent BC
Obv: Laur Apollo head to right of early Armorican style
Rev: Naked female warrior riding horse to r., Both of her arms are raised
up and she carries a spear in her right hand and a buckler (or possibly
wheel) in her left hand (off the coin)
There is no agreement as to an exact tribal attribution as only a few have been found. The distribution of these finds is between Touraine and Poitou. This has led to Brigitte Fischer attributing them, perhaps, to the Bituriges, Pictones or Turones -- the former tribe by way of some similarity to one of their types, the latter by provenance. As the coins of this period were gifted by chieftains, the provenance data is not reliable.
The few other specimens known are perhaps not clear enough to make the obvious comparison to the rare East Armorican armed rider gold staters, of which about ten are known of the "foudre" (thunderbolt) type, which this copies exactly. Later types, with a lyre instead of the thunderbolt below the horse are distinguished by the female rider holding the "buckler" in her other hand and the spear is replaced with a sword. These later types inspire a commoner type of silver denarius or drachm where the rider is not noticeably female, and does not have raised arms. These are mostly found in the general territory of the Pictones, but again, cannot be attributed to that tribe with certainty as the numbers are not large enough.
The denomination itself is rare in Gaul and it is noted to mostly exist in the territory of the Aulerci Cenomani of Eastern Armorica. It seems reasonable to suppose that the issue was for the use of that tribe, and being the most powerful tribe of the region, it also seems likely that it was issued by one of their cheiftains.
The reverse type, despite its rarity, is one of the most famous Celtic icons and has been much discussed. Some scholars suggest that it might depict the goddess Epona, a horse goddess who originates in the Rhineland where the Aulerci Cenomani also originate (Aulerci means "those who are far from their tracks"). However, Epona is mostly depicted in the Gallo-Roman period as a goddess of fecundity. A more likely attribution is to the triple war goddesses known as the Morrigan or the Macha (the latter in Ireland). They combine sexual and war frenzy and the Celts attributed to them great power and ruthlessness. In the later Arthurian romances they are embodied in Arthur's Morgan La Fay:
"Introduced in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Vita Merlini, her name (there spelled "Morgen") implies ties to the realm of Fairy. She is also a magical figure as well as a priestess presiding over a sisterhood of nine inhabiting an enchanted isle. She receives the wounded king after the last battle and offers to cure him if he remains long enough."
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/m/morgan_le_fay.html
Also my:
"Strabo, and others reporting on the travels of Posidonius in the first century B.C., tell of an island off the coast of Armorica,where priestesses worshipped a god at a temple that was roofed. It was their custom to unroof it once a year, insisting that it be roofed again before sunset. This is close to the efffect at Newgrange when the roof box was opened to allow the first rays of the sun to enter on the winter solstice."
http://www.writer2001.com/lyre.htm
A poorer example of the type was listed in CGB in 2003. Although CGB lists it as RR. It really should be RRR. Only three specimens have appeared on the market before this one, and only a few are known.
It is unpublished and would be a "star" in most Celtic coin collections.