The Remi were among the most important peoples of northeastern Gaul, occupying the region around modern Reims, where their principal settlement stood on the site later known as Durocortorum. They enter the historical record in Caesar's Gallic War, where they are the first Belgic people to submit to Rome in 57 BC, offering hostages and supplies as the neighboring tribes gathered against him. That decision set the course of their fortunes. They remained steadfast allies of Rome throughout the conquest, and Durocortorum went on to become the capital of the province of Gallia Belgica. Their coinage of the first century BC reflects a community increasingly at ease with both Celtic and Mediterranean visual traditions.

The head on this bronze wears a torque, the neck ring that served across the Celtic world as a mark of status and rank. A named legend flanks the portrait, in the manner of other late Gallic issues that adopt the written word from the Roman world. The reverse carries a striding lion, a creature with no native place in Gaul and therefore clearly borrowed from Mediterranean iconography. Its tail is curled up over its back in an energetic, stylized manner typical of Gallic engravers, who reworked foreign models into something distinctly their own. The two S-shapes above and the beaded ring between the legs are secondary symbols whose exact meaning remains uncertain, though they may have served as control marks within the issue.

Pedigree: Ex The Bru Sale 2011 (6) lot 62. Reportedly acquired privately from Sonja Lambert.