Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Bronze Unit - Dubnovellaunos Lion Box
| Issuer | Cantii tribe (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 30 BC - 10 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 2.5 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A lion is depicted striding to the left, rendered in the schematic, abstracted style characteristic of Cantian Late Iron Age coinage. Below the lion, the abbreviated royal legend DVBN is enclosed within a recessed rectangular box or tablet, a distinctive feature identifying this type. The relief is moderately bold, and the design fills the irregularly shaped flan. The overall composition reflects the influence of continental Celtic coinage adapted to local Kentish iconographic traditions. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Dubnovellaunos is one of the few pre-Roman British rulers whose name appears on coinage and can be tentatively cross-referenced with Roman documentary sources — Dio Cassius records a British king of that name sending submission to Augustus, likely around 5–7 AD. Whether the coin's issuer and that suppliant king are the same individual remains genuinely contested. The Cantii occupied present-day Kent, the first significant territory encountered by Caesar during his 55 and 54 BC expeditions, which may explain why their ruling class adopted struck coinage with unusual speed relative to more interior tribes.