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Silver Minim - Verica Vine Leaf
| Issuer | Atrebates and Regini tribes (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 25-35 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Obverse description | Central device consisting of a large, naturalistically rendered vine leaf occupying the majority of the flan, with clearly articulated lobes radiating outward from a prominent central midrib and finer lateral veins extending to the leaf margins. The leaf is surrounded by a beaded border of pellets following the irregular outline of the hammered flan. The design is executed in the characteristic Celtic schematic style, with bold relief emphasizing the organic form of the foliage. No legend appears on this face. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A stylized animal, identified as a horse or bull, rendered in the abstract Celtic manner, occupying the central field and depicted in a dynamic crouching or prancing posture. Above the animal's back, a series of short radiating lines or solar rays project upward toward the upper portion of the flan. Partial letters from the royal legend — attributed to VERICA — are distributed around the periphery of the field, though partially obscured by the irregular flan edge. The overall composition reflects the late Celtic artistic tradition of the Atrebatic coinage, combining zoomorphic imagery with abbreviated royal titulature. |
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| Additional information |
Verica ruled the Atrebates as a client king under Roman patronage — his coins, unusually for Iron Age Britain, carry the Latin abbreviation COM F ("son of Commios"), a deliberate signal of dynastic legitimacy aimed as much at Roman administrators as at local populations. The minims associated with his reign are the smallest denomination in the series, likely functioning in low-value exchange or possibly votive deposit rather than everyday trade.
Verica was eventually driven from Britain by rival Catuvellaunian pressure, and his appeal to the Emperor Claudius for restoration is cited by ancient sources as one of the pretexts for the Roman invasion of 43 AD.