A coin of the Ambiani, possibly featuring Cernunnos on the obverse and with a clear, splendidly antlered stag on the reverse, is illustrated (and offered for sale) in the Chris Rudd list number 74 as coin 12.

Chriss Rudd writes:

12. Facing Head and Stag. GB5. Ambiani. c.60-50 BC. Bronze unit. 14-15mm. 2.41g. Facing male head with blank lentoid eyes, large circular ring suspended from each ear, cranium surrounded by serpentine line, all enclosed within beaded border./ Stag with annular chest standing right, head turned backwards over shoulder, large antlers (each with three tines) curving downwards, solar ‘anemone’ below, small rings around, all enclosed within beaded border. LT—, BMC—, BN 8406A, DT 400A, Sch/GB fig. 367. CCI 04.0132. Good very fine, bold images both sides, beautiful dark-green patina. Excessively rare, unlisted by La Tour, none in British Museum; only two examples recorded by Scheers: one in the Bibliotheque Nationale, the other in Berlin Museum. Ex Ian Hannington collection, found near St Albans, Herts., c.1993. An important piece of great mythological interest and of great rarity, the first we’ve seen offered for sale anywhere. £550

The facing head is almost certainly that of the horned Celtic god, Cernunnos. There are three compelling reasons for believing this: (1) Other bronze coins in the Ambianic facinghead series – for example, DT 399, 400, 401, 402 – all clearly display horns. (2) There is a large ring each side of the head, similar to the neck torcs on the antlers of the Notre-Dame Cernunnos. (3) On the reverse there is a stag, the animal most closely associated with Cernunnos.

My respected colleagues, Simone Scheers and Louis-Pol Delestrée both identify the animal as a horse. However, it is unmistakably a stag, as the huge curved antlers on this specimen indubitably demonstrate. I think the serpentine arc and rings above the facing head on the obverse may be a visual echo of the stag’s antlers and rings on the other side of the coin.

The entry is illustrated by an 18th century woodcut of the Lutece Cernunnos (showing some artistic license) and by black and white photographs of the two sides of the coin.

On the reverse, it is very clearly a stag and not a horse. On the obverse, its difficult to tell. There are no obvious antlers (but then, part of the rites of Cernunnos seemed to be the seasonal shedding and regrowth of antlers and many statues have holes for removable antlers). The rings to the side of the head might be neck torcs, or they might be semi-circular ears (visible on the actual Lutece stature but not depicted on their woodcut).

I would be very glad to hear others opinions of this coin.