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Bronze Unit 'Trinovantian S' RVIIS
| Issuer | Catuvellauni tribe |
|---|---|
| Year | 15 BC - 10 AD |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Irregular flan bearing a stylised abstract design in the late Celtic artistic tradition, heavily patinated with green corrosion. The field displays a series of curved, parallel ridged lines arranged in a fan or corn-ear motif, characteristic of the 'Trinovantian S' type series. The design is executed in low relief with an irregular, roughly circular border. The inscription RVIIS appears in retrograde Latin characters within or adjacent to the decorative field. The overall composition reflects the transitional phase of British Celtic coinage influenced by continental prototypes. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents a stylised Celtic horse or animal figure in motion, rendered in the schematic, abstracted manner typical of late Iron Age British coinage. The creature is depicted in profile, its body composed of curved linear forms with pellet or lentoid decorative elements in the field. Additional abstract motifs and possible vegetal ornaments surround the central figure, consistent with the Catuvellauni artistic convention of this period. The mint name inscription VIIR, referencing Verlamion (modern St Albans), appears within the field in retrograde Latin lettering. The flan is irregular and the surfaces exhibit heavy green patination consistent with prolonged burial. |
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| Additional information |
The attribution "Trinovantian S" reflects the long-running scholarly debate over whether these coins were struck by the Catuvellauni under Tasciovanus or by the Trinovantes before Catuvellaunian absorption of their territory — a political conquest that archaeology suggests was largely complete by the early first century AD. The RVIIS inscription remains incompletely understood; it may denote a mint site, a magistrate, or a subordinate ruler, none of which has been confirmed to universal satisfaction.