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Silver 1/2 Unit Barley Crescent
| Issuer | Iceni tribe (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 15 BC - 20 AD |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 10 mm |
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| Obverse description | Central field dominated by a stylised ear of barley or palm branch rendered in low relief, occupying the middle of the flan. A group of four pellets is arranged below the central motif. To the right, vestigial diagonal lines represent a highly abstracted cloak or drapery pattern, a characteristic feature of late Iceni artistic convention. The design is executed in the Celtic La Tène tradition, with schematic rather than naturalistic forms. No legend or inscription is present. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A schematically rendered horse advances to the right, its body depicted in the highly abstracted Celtic style typical of Iceni minor coinage. Above the horse, a prominent upturned solid crescent with a single pellet nestled within its cusp serves as the principal secondary device, giving the type its name. The limbs of the horse are rendered as simple linear strokes, consistent with the reduced artistic vocabulary of the half-unit denomination. No inscription or legend is present on the reverse field. |
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| Additional information |
The Iceni occupied what is now Norfolk and parts of Suffolk, and their coinage circulated within a tight tribal geography — these weren't trade coins moving across Britain but instruments of internal exchange and probably elite gift-giving. The fractional silver issues are among the least-studied of all Iceni denominations, and ABC 1603 sits in a typological sequence that was likely disrupted well before the Boudican revolt of 60–61 AD effectively ended indigenous coin production in the region.