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 Stater - Cunobelinus Wild A Decorated
| Issuer | Catuvellauni and Trinovantes tribes (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 10-20 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Stater (1) |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| 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 | A stylised corn ear rendered in the Celtic tradition, comprising six pairs of grain pellets arranged symmetrically along a central axis without a continuous stalk. The inscription CA-MV is divided to the left and right of the ear, with certain dies presenting a pellet triad above or below. The composition springs from an ornate, decorated stalk base, reflecting the highly abstracted vegetal imagery characteristic of Late Iron Age Celtic coinage. The overall design is executed in a bold, abstract register typical of Cunobelinine issues. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Latin |
| 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 |
Cunobelinus ruled from Camulodunum — modern Colchester — and was powerful enough that Shakespeare later immortalised him as Cymbeline. The "Wild" classification in Sills distinguishes a subgroup of his gold staters by decorative field treatment, with varieties 556 and 557 differentiated by subtle die characteristics that continue to generate disagreement among Celtic numismatists. His reign coincided almost exactly with the early Roman imperial period, and Roman writers including Suetonius noted his dominance over southeastern Britain.
He died sometime around AD 40, roughly three years before Claudius used instability among his successors as the pretext for the 43 AD invasion.