Catalog
1/4 Silver Stater 'Durotrigan H'
| Issuer | Durotriges tribe |
|---|---|
| Year | 40 BC - 35 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Abstract geometric design featuring a prominent vertical zigzag element intersected by a horizontal line of pellets extending across the field, characteristic of the highly stylised Durotrigan reverse type. A distinctive crescentic or 'clamshell' object is positioned to the upper left of the central motif. The design is distributed across the full, irregularly shaped flan with no legend or inscription. The composition represents the extreme abstraction of the earlier horse and wheel types common to southern British Iron Age coinage. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Durotriges, occupying what is now Dorset and parts of Somerset, were among the most resistant of British tribes to Roman cultural penetration — their coinage reflects this insularity in an almost perverse way. While neighboring tribes increasingly adopted continental die-cutting techniques and figural clarity, Durotrigan issues underwent deliberate or indifferent abstraction across successive types, with 'H' sitting near the terminal point of that devolution. By this stage, silver content had been so aggressively debased that "billon" is charitable; many analyzed examples fall closer to silver-washed bronze.
The fractional denomination is poorly understood in terms of its economic function within the tribe's exchange system.