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Gold 1/4 Stater Mossop Mystery
| Issuer | Iceni tribe (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 15 BC - 20 AD |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 0.9 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A stylised horse facing left occupies the central field, rendered in the characteristic schematic manner of Icenian Celtic coinage, with notably prominent, elongated ears clearly distinguishing this type. A cross or series of cross-shaped pellet groups appears above the horse's back, serving as a key diagnostic element of this variety. Scattered pellets and small ornamental devices are distributed across the field in typical Icenian fashion. The limbs and body of the horse are depicted in a simplified, abstracted manner consistent with the Late Iron Age artistic tradition of eastern Britain. No inscription or legend is present. |
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| Mintage | ND (15 BC - 20 AD) |
| Additional information |
The "Mossop Mystery" designation comes from R.H. Mossop's foundational 1970 study of Iceni coinage, in which this type was isolated as an anomaly — its die relationships and distribution patterns didn't align cleanly with the broader Iceni sequence. The Iceni occupied what is now Norfolk and Suffolk, and their coinage evolved through the late Iron Age largely without Roman interference until the tribe came under client-kingdom arrangements following Claudius's invasion of 43 AD.
At roughly 0.9g, these quarter staters circulated as fractional currency within a gift-exchange and tribute economy, not a market one. The findspot record remains concentrated in Norfolk.