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Silver 1/2 Unit Barley Boar
| Issuer | Iceni tribe (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 15 BC - 20 AD |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Silver 1/2 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 |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A horse rendered in right profile with a distinctive corkscrew or spiral tail, executed in the highly stylised linear manner characteristic of Iceni tribal coinage. An ear of barley or palm branch is positioned above the horse in the upper field, serving as a tribal emblematic ornament. Pellets and decorative motifs are scattered across the field, consistent with the artistic conventions of late Iron Age British coinage. The flan is irregular and the strike is typical of hand-hammered silver fractional pieces. No inscription or legend is present. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Iceni occupied what is now Norfolk and northern Suffolk, and maintained a degree of autonomy under Roman client-king arrangements until the death of Prasutagus in 60 AD triggered the catastrophic revolt led by Boudicca. This fractional denomination would have circulated in the decades just before that rupture, in a tribal economy where Roman monetary influence was already reshaping local exchange systems without yet replacing them.
ABC 1597 is among the smaller fractional types attributed to the Iceni series — half-units of this weight were likely used in transactions too fine for the full unit but still requiring a silver medium.