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Potin Unit Birchington Bull
| Issuer | Cantii tribe (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 100 BC - 85 BC |
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| Currency | Stater |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A butting bull advancing to the left, rendered in a relatively naturalistic style compared to other Cantian potin issues, hence the designation 'Birchington Bull'. The animal is shown with head lowered in a charging posture, its body compact and musculature suggested by the casting relief. The tail curves upward toward the upper right of the flan. A horizontal ground line runs beneath the bull, and the unadorned field is otherwise devoid of inscription or subsidiary symbols. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Cantii occupied the territory of modern Kent, and their potin coinage — cast rather than struck, distinguishing it from virtually all contemporary Celtic issues elsewhere in Britain — circulated during a period of intensifying cross-Channel contact with Belgic Gaul. The "Birchington Bull" type takes its name from a hoard find site on the Isle of Thanet, one of several Kent concentrations suggesting these pieces moved in tight regional circuits rather than across tribal boundaries.
Cast in tin-rich bronze using clay moulds, potin flans frequently show casting sprues or surface porosity. ABC 141 sits at the earlier end of the Cantian potin sequence.