Catalog
Gold Stater Snettisham Spiral Type
| Issuer | Iceni tribe (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 15 BC - 5 AD |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Stylised Celtic horse advancing right, rendered in the distinctive Iceni abstract manner. The head is solid and compact, with a beaded mane that loops upward above the head before returning to a wing-like terminal motif. The horse displays a characteristic double tail and doubled upper foreleg treatment. Decorative pellet rings appear on either side of the horse, while a prominent multi-armed spiral ornament occupies the field in front of and below the animal, the defining feature of the Snettisham Spiral type. No legend or inscription is present. |
| 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 | ND (15 BC - 5 AD) |
| Additional information |
The Snettisham Spiral type takes its name from the Norfolk hoard site where related Celtic metalwork — including the famous Snettisham torc — was recovered, pointing to a concentrated zone of Iceni aristocratic wealth in the decades immediately preceding the Roman conquest. These staters circulated in a tribal economy where coinage functioned as much for gift exchange and political obligation as for trade, which partly explains why so many examples surface in deliberate hoards rather than casual loss contexts.
By the reign of Cunobelin and the intensifying Roman presence in southern Britain, the Iceni remained politically distinct in Norfolk and Suffolk — their coinage tradition persisting until Boudica's revolt of 60–61 AD effectively ended it.