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Silver 1/2 Unit - Belgae Withers Wonder
| Issuer | Atrebates and Regini tribes (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 55 BC - 45 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Highly stylised Celtic design executed in the La Tène artistic tradition, depicting an abstracted animal figure — likely a horse or zoomorphic creature — rendered in bold, curvilinear relief. The field is filled with characteristic Celtic decorative elements including pellets, scrolls, and sinuous lines radiating around the central motif. The flan is small and irregular, as typical of struck British Celtic minor coinage, with the design partially confined by the coin's narrow borders. No legible inscription is present, consistent with pre-Roman Celtic coinage of the Atrebates and Regini. The overall style reflects the degenerate but vigorous artistic conventions of southern British Iron Age die-engravers. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Atrebates maintained close ties with the Gaulish Atrebates across the Channel — Caesar's campaigns in 55 and 54 BC directly disrupted those networks, and the fractional silver issues of this period likely reflect economic pressure and a shrinking silver supply rather than routine monetary policy. At under half a gram, these pieces represent the smallest denomination the tribe struck in silver, probably functioning as small-change equivalents within a gift-economy still transitioning toward market exchange.
The Witers 2458 reference places this within a tightly defined typological sequence established by John Witers' die study of Atrebatic fractions.