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Gold Stater Early Whaddon Chase Rounded Wing / Early Whaddon Chase
| Issuer | Catuvellauni tribe (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 55 BC - 50 BC |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Stater |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Highly stylised, fragmented head derived ultimately from a classical laureate bust, rendered in the abstract La Tène Celtic artistic tradition. The facial elements — a large pellet eye, a prominent nose, and a curved jaw — are disarticulated across the flan, interspersed with flowing lines, pellets, and a prominent rounded wing motif in the upper field. Diagonal scored lines and sinuous relief curves fill the field, giving the composition a dynamic, almost abstract character. No legend or inscription is present. The flan is irregular, with slightly ragged edges characteristic of hammered Celtic gold coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A stylised Celtic horse prances to the right in the central field, rendered with elongated limbs and a distinctively disjointed anatomy typical of Whaddon Chase coinage. Above the horse's back, a large ringed pellet and scattered smaller pellets occupy the upper field, along with a vertical rod or staff motif to the upper left. A prominent annulet with a central pellet appears below the horse's belly, and a large eye-shaped motif is visible to the right of the horse's head. The field is otherwise uncluttered, with no legend or inscription, consistent with the anepigraphic nature of this early Catuvellauni series. |
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| Additional information |
The Whaddon Chase type takes its name from a hoard discovered in Buckinghamshire in 1849, which produced several hundred gold staters and remains the defining find for this series. Caesar's two expeditions to Britain in 55 and 54 BC almost certainly disrupted Catuvellaunian political structures, and some scholars have argued the proliferation of stater output in this period reflects tribal elites converting wealth into portable, high-value coinage ahead of or following Roman pressure. The "Early" classification within the Whaddon Chase sequence is Sills's, distinguishing die-linked groups by flan fabric and pellet arrangement.