Catalog
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| Issuer | Cantii tribe (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 95 BC - 80 BC |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Potin Unit |
| 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 |
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| Obverse description | Schematised outline head of Apollo facing left, rendered in the Celtic La Tène artistic tradition. The facial features are depicted in open outline style, with the nose and face delineated by incised lines; an annular eye ring is typically present, usually enclosing a central pellet. A neck line is generally present below the head, and the overall design exhibits the characteristic abstraction of Cantian potin coinage. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Mintage | ND (95 BC - 80 BC) - D6/1-1: Head left, no eye pellet. Bull left, curved tail - ND (95 BC - 80 BC) - D6/1-2 (Allen J5): Head left, with eye pellet, often very crude. Bull left, curved tail - ND (95 BC - 80 BC) - D6/1-3: Head left, with eye pellet. Bull left, straight tail, rear leg a single straight line - |
| Additional information |
Potin coinage among the Cantii — the tribe occupying what is now Kent — was almost certainly imported in technique from Gaulish neighbors before becoming a distinctly local production. This type, classified by Van Arsdell as 119-01, belongs to the later, reduced-module series; earlier Cantian potins ran heavier, and the progressive weight reduction across the sequence suggests either metal shortages or deliberate debasement as the first century BC wore on. Potin itself — a cast tin-bronze alloy — was never struck on a die in the conventional sense but poured into clay or stone moulds, which accounts for the irregular flans endemic to the type.