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Gold Plated Stater - Cunobelin Cunobelinus Wild Contemporary Counterfeit
| Issuer | Catuvellauni and Trinovantes tribes (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 10-20 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Reverse presents a crudely rendered horse prancing to the right, derived from the standard Cunobelin stater reverse type, though executed with the schematic, debased style characteristic of a contemporary forgery. The horse figure retains recognisable limb forms and a curved body, but lacks the refined detail of the official issue, with ancillary symbols reduced to indistinct marks in the field. Below the horse, the abbreviated legend CVNO, identifying Cunobelin as issuing authority, is partially legible in coarse Latin lettering. The flan is irregular and shows significant green corrosion over the bronze substrate, consistent with loss of the applied gold plating. Overall, the reverse composition closely follows the prototype of ABC 2777 but is unmistakably the product of an unofficial, contemporary counterfeit operation. |
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| Mintage | ND (10-20) - Base core - ND (10-20) - Gold plated - |
| Additional information |
Cunobelin's staters were among the most widely circulated coins in pre-Roman Britain, and their prestige made them natural targets for counterfeiters. This piece — a bronze core with gold plating — is what specialists call a "contemporary counterfeit," meaning it was made and passed during the coin's own period of circulation rather than in later centuries. The workmanship suggests someone with access to genuine dies or skilled die-copying, not crude imitation.
The BMC Iron Age reference places this within a documented group. The qualifier "Wild" in the classification distinguishes it from more faithful copies, indicating divergence from the prototype significant enough to be catalogued separately.