Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Gold Plated Stater South Ferriby Phallic / Transitional Three Contemporary Counterfeit
| Issuer | |
|---|---|
| Year | 45 BC - 10 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Round (irregular) |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Highly abstracted and degraded effigy of Apollo facing right, derived from the classical wreath-head type; the wreath is rendered with leaves pointing inward, accompanied by vestiges of a cloak and crescent motifs. The die is typically heavily worn or obliterated, resulting in a surface that is largely plain or only faintly impressed. The design reflects the progressive stylistic degeneration characteristic of late British Iron Age coinage struck on debased flans. No legible legend or inscription is present in the field. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A schematically rendered lunate horse advances to the left, its body reduced to abstract geometric components in the late British Celtic tradition. A boot-like or pellet-in-annulet object occupies the central field beneath the horse's body. Above the horse appear a phallus symbol and an anchor-like motif, flanked by two spirals each enclosing pellets. A six-pointed star, representing a solar symbol, appears below the horse in the lower field. No legend is present; the imagery is entirely symbolic and consistent with the South Ferriby Phallic type. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
South Ferriby types were struck by the Corieltavi of eastern Britain, and contemporary counterfeits of this class are well-documented — local production of plated copies was not fringe criminality but likely a pragmatic response to metal shortages or trade demand that outpaced official supply. The "Transitional Three" designation places this piece within a classification sequence developed by Allen and refined by Van Arsdell, situating it at a point where the stater type was evolving toward more abstracted, degraded forms.
The phallic reverse variety is among the more distinctive in the series. Whether the motif carried apotropaic meaning or simply survived through die-cutter habit is unresolved.