Epaticcus ruled the Atrebates in the decades immediately before the Claudian invasion of 43 AD, expanding aggressively into Catuvellaunian territory — a political instability that likely drove demand for plated forgeries as genuine gold coinage became harder to trust or obtain. Contemporary counterfeits of this type were produced by coating a bronze flan with gold leaf or wash, a deception sophisticated enough to circulate alongside genuine issues.
The "cf." references across every major catalogue reflect the classificatory difficulty: no two plated pieces are struck from identical die pairs to confirmed genuine specimens, complicating attribution.
Epaticcus ruled the Atrebates in the decades immediately before the Claudian invasion of 43 AD, expanding aggressively into Catuvellaunian territory — a political instability that likely drove demand for plated forgeries as genuine gold coinage became harder to trust or obtain. Contemporary counterfeits of this type were produced by coating a bronze flan with gold leaf or wash, a deception sophisticated enough to circulate alongside genuine issues.
The "cf." references across every major catalogue reflect the classificatory difficulty: no two plated pieces are struck from identical die pairs to confirmed genuine specimens, complicating attribution.