Catalog
Bronze Unit - Tasciovanos Tasciovanos Star
| Issuer | Catuvellauni and Trinovantes tribes (Celtic Britain) |
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| Year | 15 BC - 10 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 13 mm |
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| Obverse description | An eight-pointed geometric star formed by intersecting lines radiates from a central pellet enclosed within a ring, rendered in the abstract Celtic artistic tradition characteristic of late Iron Age British coinage. The star design is boldly executed in the field, with each point extending toward the periphery of the flan. The whole is surrounded by a wreath border composed of pellets or stylised foliage, framing the central motif and lending a structured, ceremonial quality to the design. |
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| Reverse description | A bull strides vigorously to the right, depicted in the energetic, stylised manner typical of Catuvellaunian bronze coinage of the late first century BC. The animal's musculature is rendered with curved, emphatic lines, and the tail curves upward before extending to the right above the hindquarters. Scattered pellets appear in the field around the bull, serving as decorative fill elements in the Celtic numismatic tradition. A horizontal exergual line runs beneath the figure, delineating the ground plane. The overall composition reflects the confident, abstracted naturalism characteristic of Tasciovanos-period issues. |
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| Additional information |
Tasciovanos ruled the Catuvellauni from roughly the late first century BC, making him the father — possibly literally — of Cunobelinus, Shakespeare's Cymbeline. His bronzes are among the earliest coins struck in Britain to carry a ruler's abbreviated name, a deliberate adoption of Mediterranean numismatic convention that signals serious engagement with Roman cultural practices in the decades following Caesar's invasions. This particular type is distinguished by the star motif that gives it its catalog name, one of several distinct bronzes attributed to his reign that help modern researchers sequence his output chronologically.