Eleusates / Sotiates. Drachma with a horse, slightly worn, undated (2nd–1st centuries B.C.).

LT.3587 - Savès 512-513; Silver - 2.57 g - 16.5 mm - 12 h
With a gray patina and golden highlights. Superb.
These coins, originating mainly from the Gers region according to G. Savès, were found in the hoards at Manciet in 1846, Castelnau-sur-l’Auvignon in 1881, and Laujuzan in 1882… Regarding the latter hoard, A. Blanchet notes weights ranging from 2.30 to 3.45. There are indeed at least two groups, classified as light or heavy based on weight. The heavier coins cannot necessarily be distinguished by their style. The latest research seems to suggest an attribution to the Sotiates. The origin of this particularly stylized profile has very recently been explained based on a unique drachma—a “missing link” between these coins and the portraits on Languedoc-style drachmas (represented, for example, in the Moussan hoard). This beautifully styled specimen, struck on a wide blank, is nevertheless classified among the light coins.