Curved Bull Cast Bronze Unit

Outline head left/Outline bull right

ABC150; 18mm, 1.30g

Provenance

This coin is from The London Collection of Ancient British Coins. For more information click here: The London Collection – Silbury Coins : Silbury Coins.

M Vosper, 1997 VA 125-3/125-1

This coin comes with a previous label.

Cantiaci

 ‘Of all the Britons the inhabitants of Kent, an entirely maritime district, are by far the most civilised, differing but little from the Gallic manner of life.’

Caesar, De Bello Gallico, book V, chapter 13.

The modern county of Kent was, according to the Romans, the homeland of the Cantiaci or Cantii. The closest portion of mainland Britain to the Continent, it is unsurprising that in the Late Iron Age the region boasted strong links with north-east France – a legacy maintained to this day, one could argue, with the continued importance of Dover and Folkestone as key cross-channel ferry ports.

Kent’s earliest Iron Age coins (and indeed, probably the earliest indigenously-produced British coins) are represented by cast bronze pieces called potins, whose alloy has a high tin content. On the basis of single finds and hoards, we know that imported gold in the form of Gallo-Belgic coinage was widely used in Kent at around the same time as the potins.

The somewhat mysterious series of uninscribed Kentish gold, including the so-called ‘Weald Net’ staters (ABC 177/BMC 2466) and ‘Corded Triangle’ quarter staters (ABC 198/BMC 2469–71) were probably struck c. 50–30/25 BC, they perhaps slightly precede a diverse group of uninscribed silver and bronze issues.

Inscribed issues belong towards the end of the Kentish coin-sequence, as is invariably the general case in Late Iron Age Britain. Their production probably began from c. 25 BC onwards and runs onward till shortly before the Claudian invasion. It is worth noting that at this time, Kent seems to have been taken over to varying extents by rulers from neighbouring regions. These rulers in turn came to issue coins in the region, even though they themselves might not originate from it, nor it reflect their main power-base.

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Curved Bull Cast Bronze Unit

Outline head left/Outline bull mostly of curved lines left

ABC165; 18mm, 1.93g

Provenance

This coin is from The London Collection of Ancient British Coins. For more information click here: The London Collection – Silbury Coins : Silbury Coins.

Timeline auctions 14.02.2015, lot 1573 VA 108-3

This coin comes with a previous label.

Cantiaci

 ‘Of all the Britons the inhabitants of Kent, an entirely maritime district, are by far the most civilised, differing but little from the Gallic manner of life.’

Caesar, De Bello Gallico, book V, chapter 13.

The modern county of Kent was, according to the Romans, the homeland of the Cantiaci or Cantii. The closest portion of mainland Britain to the Continent, it is unsurprising that in the Late Iron Age the region boasted strong links with north-east France – a legacy maintained to this day, one could argue, with the continued importance of Dover and Folkestone as key cross-channel ferry ports.

Kent’s earliest Iron Age coins (and indeed, probably the earliest indigenously-produced British coins) are represented by cast bronze pieces called potins, whose alloy has a high tin content. On the basis of single finds and hoards, we know that imported gold in the form of Gallo-Belgic coinage was widely used in Kent at around the same time as the potins.

The somewhat mysterious series of uninscribed Kentish gold, including the so-called ‘Weald Net’ staters (ABC 177/BMC 2466) and ‘Corded Triangle’ quarter staters (ABC 198/BMC 2469–71) were probably struck c. 50–30/25 BC, they perhaps slightly precede a diverse group of uninscribed silver and bronze issues.

Inscribed issues belong towards the end of the Kentish coin-sequence, as is invariably the general case in Late Iron Age Britain. Their production probably began from c. 25 BC onwards and runs onward till shortly before the Claudian invasion. It is worth noting that at this time, Kent seems to have been taken over to varying extents by rulers from neighbouring regions. These rulers in turn came to issue coins in the region, even though they themselves might not originate from it, nor it reflect their main power-base.

The post Cantiaci 3rd-1st Century BC Curved Bull Cast Bronze Unit appeared first on Silbury Coins.

Eyelash Crescents

4 Crescents / Horse

ABC1588; S435, 13mm, 0.60g

This coin is recorded with the Portable Antiquities Scheme database.

The Iceni, who largely inhabited modern Norfolk, represent what is probably Iron Age Britain’s best known tribal confederation. Thanks to the efforts of their last ruler, Boudicca, they have truly earned their place in the annals of British history. Representing a potent symbol of resistance against Roman rule, they have been wholly immortalised via contemporary culture – featuring widely in art, television and even through the medium of video games. Nevertheless, it is important to acknowledge that there is much more to the Iceni than their swansong, a final hurrah pitched against the inevitability of Roman victory in Britain.

This was a land of skilled metalworkers in both gold and bronze, as evidenced by finds like the Snettisham torcs and the recent carnyx (war trumpet) discovered near Thetford, cunningly crafted in sheet-metal. Hoards of horse gear, such as bridle fittings and terret rings, are increasingly common here, showing an adherence to local art styles well into the later 1st and even earlier 2nd centuries AD.

Our knowledge of Icenian coinage has been much advanced in recent years by Dr John Talbot, whose extensive publication of the series represents one of the few truly up-to-date syntheses of an entire, regional Iron Age coinage. The sequence begins with two iconic gold stater types. Perhaps most famous of these is the so-called ‘Norfolk Wolf’ (ABC 1393,1396,1399/BMC 212–78). This type, on which the reverse wolf faces either left or right, is one of only a very few Iron Age coins to feature canids. The second of the iconic Icenian staters is the extensive ‘Freckenham’ series and its variants (e.g. ABC 1426/BMC 3396–3404). Named after an 1885 hoard of ninety such coins, found in the village of Freckenham, Suffolk, these types generally depict a large, rose-like flower in the middle of their obverse faces, set at the centre of a four-spoked wheel. Accompanying these are varying types of uninscribed quarter-staters, most common of which is the so-called ‘Irstead’ type with its distinctive lattice-square obverse motif. Other uninscribed quarter-staters vary from rare to extremely rare, the latter best exemplified by the so-called ‘Mildenhall Mystery’ (ABC 1489).

The post Iceni 1st Century BC Silver Unit Eyelash Crescents appeared first on Silbury Coins.

South Ferriby

Wreath / Horse

ABC1743; S390, 20mm, 2.78g

The Corieltavi (sometimes called the Coritani, Corieltauvi or Coritavi) lived in and around what is today the East Midlands. Though their territory was centred on Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, coin distribution patterns suggest that they probably held sway in at least some areas located north of the Humber – likely penetrating some way into modern Yorkshire. This gives them the honour of being Iron Age Britain’s most northerly coin issuers.

While no coins appear to have been minted either by the peoples located north of them, nor their neighbours in the central/western midlands, this position on something of a monetary ‘frontier’ by no means affects either the quality or quantity of their coinage. While there is little direct copying of classical images to be found here, nor evidence of any rulers whose names entered the annals of Rome, the coins issued within what numismatists call the ‘North Eastern Region’, are highly developed, characterful pieces which attest to the presence of skilled metalworkers and imaginative die-cutters.

Like many of Iron Age Britain’s coin-issuing tribes, the Corieltavi’s earliest issues date to shortly after the invasions of Julius Caesar, beginning with an extensive coinage of uninscribed gold staters. These, the ‘North East Coast’ type (ABC 1716, 1719, 1722/BMC 182–211) are derived from repeated down-the-line copying of classical Macedonian prototypes. Over time, this type morphs into the so-called ‘South Ferriby’ staters, characterised by the increasingly stylised horse of lunate appearance present on their reverse faces (ABC 1743–52/BMC 3148–80). Other varieties of similar ilk to the South Ferriby types include the ‘Domino’ and ‘Kite’ staters, both of which have intriguing geometric symbols that evoke these modern descriptive terms in their reverse fields (ABC 1758, 1761/BMC 3185–6 and 3181–84).  Contemporary with the latter is a highly unusual coinage unique to the Corieltavi, comprising the so-called ‘Lindsey Scyphates’. These, which are thin and of distinctly cup-shaped appearance, depict stylised bristling boars on their obverse faces (ABC 1773/BMC 3189–92). The boar is an animal which seems to have held particular significance to the Corieltavi, given that it not only appears on the gold uninscribed scyphates, but also on the extensive series of uninscribed silver coins which seem to emerge slightly later, such as the ‘Proto Boar’ type and its derivatives (ABC 1779/BMC 3194–98). While boars also appear on the early ‘South Ferriby’ silver units (e.g. ABC 1800), these slowly disappear during the transition towards inscribed types.

The inscribed Corieltavian coinages, which probably emerge during the early 1st century AD (that is, c. AD 10–20/30) and continue till shortly after the Claudian invasion, are some of the most mysterious in the Late Iron Age series – not least because unlike those from the southern and North Thames regions, we cannot tie the individuals named upon them with historically attested figures named in written sources.

The post Corieltavi 1st Century BC Gold Plated Stater South Ferriby appeared first on Silbury Coins.

Butting bull right, EPPIL above, COF below/Spread eagle standing, head right

Rare

ABC411; 15mm, 1.92g

Provenance

This coin is from The London Collection of Ancient British Coins. For more information click here: The London Collection – Silbury Coins : Silbury Coins.

Liz’s List 15, no 24. ex William Heard collection VA 451

This coin comes with a previous label.

Eppillus AD 1-15

The second Atrebatic ruler to proclaim ‘COM F’ on his coins, Eppillus’ issues can be divided into two broad categories – those produced at the tribal civitas of Calleva (the imaginatively named ‘Calleva types’), and those seemingly struck in Kent (the equally imaginative ‘Kentish types’). On the basis of this, it is highly probable that Eppillus held some kind of influence either over or in Kent – although whether this was economic, territorial or military in nature is uncertain. Coin evidence does a lot of the heavy lifting in informing about his rule, as he is otherwise completely unknown to the historical record. His status as a king, or at least his desire to see himself portrayed as one, is revealed by one of his silver unit types – where the inscription ‘REX CALLE’ prominently appears (ABC 1160/BMC 1016–60). Robert van Arsdell theorised that Eppillus’ disappearance from the record might have arisen as a consequence of Cunobelin’s rise to power, suggesting that he was killed when the Trinovantes and Catavellaunii directed their territorial ambitions southwards into Kent.

The post Cantiaci Eppillus c.AD 1-15 Bull and Eagle Bronze Unit *Rare* appeared first on Silbury Coins.

Vepo Vepoc

Very Rare

Plain or traces of wreath / Horse right with solid head and double upper front legs, VEPOC(O)MES above

ABC1869, S412, 13mm, 1.08g

This coin comes with a rough find area provenance.

The Corieltauvi tribe occupied modern day Lincolnshire and parts of adjoining Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire. With an extensive series of inscribed and uninscribed coins in both gold and silver this makes for a very interesting series to collect.
The Scyphate gold quarter staters are worthy of mention, very thin and deeply dished with no parallel in the rest of the Iron Age series, presumably a very localised issue but why?

Some of the later inscribed staters bear long and wonderful names, there is some suggestion that these may be the names of two individuals, perhaps joint kings or the introduction of moneyers displayed on coins. ‘Volisios Domnovellaunos’ is my favourite, it puts our modern day names to shame, ‘Bob’ not quite having the same ring.

The post Corieltavi Vepo c.AD 15-40 Silver Unit *Very Rare* appeared first on Silbury Coins.

South Ferriby type

Wreath / Horse

ABC1743, S390, 19mm, 5.18g

Comes with rough find area provenance

The Corieltauvi tribe occupied modern day Lincolnshire and parts of adjoining Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire. With an extensive series of inscribed and uninscribed coins in both gold and silver this makes for a very interesting series to collect.
The Scyphate gold quarter staters are worthy of mention, very thin and deeply dished with no parallel in the rest of the Iron Age series, presumably a very localised issue but why?

Some of the later inscribed staters bear long and wonderful names, there is some suggestion that these may be the names of two individuals, perhaps joint kings or the introduction of moneyers displayed on coins. ‘Volisios Domnovellaunos’ is my favourite, it puts our modern day names to shame, ‘Bob’ not quite having the same ring.

The post Corieltavi 1st Century BC Bronze Stater Core South Ferriby appeared first on Silbury Coins.

Allen ZA

Trace of boar / Horse right with double upper front legs

ABC1833, S400, 11mm, 0.56g

This coin comes with rough find area provenance.

The Corieltauvi tribe occupied modern day Lincolnshire and parts of adjoining Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire. With an extensive series of inscribed and uninscribed coins in both gold and silver this makes for a very interesting series to collect.
The Scyphate gold quarter staters are worthy of mention, very thin and deeply dished with no parallel in the rest of the Iron Age series, presumably a very localised issue but why?

Some of the later inscribed staters bear long and wonderful names, there is some suggestion that these may be the names of two individuals, perhaps joint kings or the introduction of moneyers displayed on coins. ‘Volisios Domnovellaunos’ is my favourite, it puts our modern day names to shame, ‘Bob’ not quite having the same ring.

The post Corieltavi 1st Century BC Silver Half Unit appeared first on Silbury Coins.

Bury Diadem

Female head left with pointed nose, diadem forehead / Prancing horse left

ABC1495, S432; 13mm, 1.09g

This coin comes with a previous handwritten collector’s label.

The post Iceni 1st Century BC Silver Unit Bury Diadem appeared first on Silbury Coins.

Norfolk God Moustache

Male head right with oval eye, moustache/ Horse right with cabled mane, lozenge below

ABC1567, S434; 14mm, 0.80g

This coin comes with a previous handwritten collector’s label.

The post Iceni 1st Century BC Silver Unit Norfolk God Moustache appeared first on Silbury Coins.