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Potin Unit Rounded Bull / Holman E4
| Issuer | Cantii tribe (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 85 BC - 70 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 |
| 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 outline bull striding right, rendered in the characteristic Celtic abstract manner with a straight body and typically straight legs. Two crescents appear above the bull's back, and the tail curves back over the body in a pronounced C-shape, which on certain specimens extends into a reversed S-shape. A straight exergual line runs beneath the figure, defining the ground line. The composition reflects the progressive schematisation of Classical bull types through Gallo-Belgic artistic influence. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Potin coinage among the Cantii was almost certainly imported in concept — if not in actual blanks — from Gaulish prototypes, most likely the mass-produced potins of the Leuci or related tribes in northeastern Gaul. The alloy itself, a low-grade tin-bronze, was easier to cast than to strike, and Cantian pieces show the characteristic casting seams and surface porosity that distinguish them from struck coinage.
Holman's classification remains the most granular framework for sorting these, as the British Museum corpus struggles with the sheer typological variation within what looks superficially like a homogeneous series.