Gold Plated 1/4 Stater - Belgae Winchester Cross Wreath Contemporary Counterfeit

Contemporary counterfeits of Atrebatic quarter staters are well-documented but rarely surface in identifiable condition. These plated pieces — struck from the same dies as official issues, or near-identical copies — circulated alongside genuine gold coinage, suggesting either organized production or tacit acceptance within local exchange networks. The deliberate plating over a bronze core required real metallurgical skill, which complicates any simple dismissal of these as crude fakes.

ABC 830 places the genuine type within the late pre-conquest issues of the Atrebates, a tribe whose territory straddled modern Hampshire and Sussex. At 0.76g, this piece falls well below even a genuine quarter stater's already reduced weight.