Gold Plated Stater - Dumnocoveros Tigirseno Contemporary Counterfeit

Contemporary counterfeits of Dobunni staters are well documented, and examples attributable to the Dumnocoveros/Tigirseno period suggest organized, locally-produced forgery rather than opportunistic copying. The gold plating on these pieces was applied before striking — not after — meaning the forger used the same basic production sequence as a legitimate mint, simply substituting a bronze flan. Detection in everyday Iron Age exchange would have been difficult until the plating wore through.