Gold Plated Stater Late Whaddon Chase Spiral / Spiral Contemporary Counterfeit

Contemporary counterfeits of Whaddon Chase staters are well documented and were almost certainly produced by tribal minters rather than opportunistic forgers — the quality and die-cutting suggest insider knowledge of the originals. This piece belongs to a class of plated issues struck in the final decades before the Claudian invasion restructured British exchange networks entirely. The bronze core with gold shell was not always detectable in daily use, and some scholars argue these circulated alongside genuine issues without meaningful distinction to the user.