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Gold Stater - Addedomaros Floral Spiral Normal Type
| Issuer | Catuvellauni and Trinovantes tribes (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 45 BC - 25 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Aniconically rendered floral spiral design in the characteristically abstract Late Iron Age Celtic style, derived from the wreath of the Macedonian gold stater prototype. The field is dominated by a complex arrangement of interlocking curvilinear foliage scrolls and tendril motifs, with pellets and crescent-shaped elements distributed across the flan. Two confronted lozenge- or fan-shaped devices, each decorated with radiating lines and pellet groupings, are prominently displayed at the centre, connected by sinuous curved bands. Additional isolated pellets are scattered in the surrounding field, contributing to the overall dynamic, organic composition characteristic of Trinovantian coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Stylised horse prancing to the right, rendered in the highly abstracted Celtic artistic tradition, with the body broken into curvilinear segments and the legs depicted as sinuous curves terminating in pellets. Above the horse, a large, elaborate floral or vegetal scroll motif fills the upper field, composed of interlocking volutes and leaf-like forms typical of Late Iron Age British coinage. Scattered pellets and small curvilinear ornaments occupy the surrounding field. Below the horse, a foliate or leaf-shaped device is visible. The legend ADDEDOMAROS appears in Latin characters around or across the field, identifying the issuing ruler of the Trinovantes. |
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| Additional information |
Addedomaros was almost certainly the first ruler to mint coins in his own name among the Trinovantian-Catuvellauni tribal sphere, breaking from the earlier uninscribed tradition and establishing a named regal coinage in Britain at a moment when Caesar's two expeditions — 55 and 54 BC — had recently demonstrated to southeastern British elites exactly what Roman political display looked like. Whether that contact directly prompted the shift to named coinage remains debated, but the timing is difficult to ignore.
The "Normal Type" designation distinguishes this issue from at least two other Addedomaros stater varieties, with differences in the floral spiral treatment used to classify them across the Van Arsdell and ABC corpora.