Catuvellauni Tasciovanos c. 25 BC-AD 10 Rings Gold Quarter Stater *Excessively Rare*

Catuvellauni Tasciovanos c. 25 BC-AD 10 Rings Gold Quarter Stater

Whorl design with crossed wreaths of two solid lines either side of a corded line, both wreaths curved with the apex facing clockwise. The wreaths end in ringed pellets at the outside but not the centre. Back-to-back solid crescents at centre, spaced widely. Pellet and sometimes ringed pellet in each angle.

Horse with linear mane and plain, drooping tail left. Bucranium above. Inscription in front, below, behind and above – T-AS-C

Excessively Rare, 30 known.

A sharply struck example with little wear, appears crisp in hand with mint lustre.

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ABC 2592; 10mm, 1.30g

Kretz Type A var. 1-2.

Sills Rings, Horse Left (3 obverse, 3 reverse dies): North Thames Coinage; Type: Tasciovanos; Quater Staters: Class 5 – Rings, Horse Left. As VERL TASCI (Sills 525), with a reverse die link, but without the mint name, suggesting it might have moved from Verlamion.
Sills DK 526: Very curved wreaths, ringed pellet and pellet in angles, crescents have no pellet between.  TASCI or TASC.

Sills chronology: Gallo-Belgic Ca – British G (Early Clacton) / Aa Westerham – British La (Whaddon Chase) – British Lb (Westbury) – Addedomaros – Dubnovellaunos – Tasciovanos.

Provenance

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

Tony Carter Collection, Dec 2008. Kretz Second coinage, Type A, var. 1. CCI 95.2633, VA 1690.

This coin comes with a previous label.

 

Tasciovanos (c. 25 BC–AD 10)

Following on from Addedomaros, who may or may not have been his father, we find Tasciovanos – whose coinage is some of the most complex and extensive within the North Thames series. An apparently long-lived ruler, traditional narratives of the Late Iron Age cast him as a dynamic and decisive individual who laid the groundwork for the success of his own son, Cunobelin, by extending Catavellaunian influence eastwards into East Anglia and Kent. While his coins generally take influence from indigenous art styles, some ‘classification’ is visible (though to a relatively limited degree) on specific types within his issues of silver and bronze. Some of the most impressive North Thames issues are exemplified by his gold staters, such as the ‘Tasciovanos hidden faces’ and ‘Tasciovanos warrior’ types (ABC 2553/BMC 1591–1603/ABC 2571/BMC 1615–16), both of which employ highly stylised, geometric motifs on their obverse faces. This medium also can be found on numerous examples of his bronze coinage, such as on the highly enigmatic ‘Tasciovanos Verlamio’ type. Here, the obverse depicts an eight-pointed star with the mint-name (VERLAMIO) cleverly interspersed between the points.