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Bronze Unit - Tasciovanos Tasciovanos Half Horse
| Issuer | Catuvellauni and Trinovantes tribes (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 15 BC - 10 BC |
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| Value | Bronze Unit |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central rectangular panel containing the abbreviated Latin legend TASC, the name of the Catuvellauni ruler Tasciovanos, set against a background of vertical wreath motifs rendered in the stylised Celtic manner characteristic of Late Iron Age British coinage. The wreath elements flank the inscription panel and fill the surrounding field with abstract vegetal ornament. The flan is irregularly shaped, as typical of hand-struck Celtic bronze units of this period. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Stylised horse or possible seahorse represented in the characteristic abstract Celtic artistic tradition, depicted moving to the left. The zoomorphic figure is rendered with the simplified, schematic line-work typical of Late Iron Age Catuvellauni bronzes, with body elements reduced to bold curves and linear forms. The field is otherwise plain, with the irregular flan edges and patchy green patination consistent with the coin's age and archaeological context. |
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| Additional information |
Tasciovanos ruled the Catuvellauni from roughly the late first century BC, operating out of Verulamium — modern St Albans — and was almost certainly the father of Cunobelin, Shakespeare's Cymbeline. His bronze issues were local, low-denomination currency circulating within tribal territory at a moment when Roman commercial influence was reshaping British coinage conventions without yet imposing direct political control. The "half horse" types are among the smaller bronzes in his series, and ABC 2703 specifically is scarce in any condition.