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Silver Unit - Belgae Hampshire Helmet
| Issuer | Atrebates and Regini tribes (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 55 BC - 45 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Highly stylised helmeted head facing left, rendered in the characteristic abstract Celtic manner. The helmet is depicted with a pronounced curved crest rendered as a bold raised arc dominating the upper field. Facial features are reduced to schematic curvilinear forms, with a prominent rounded cheek guard and eye rendered as a pellet or spiral motif. The flan is irregular and the surfaces show the characteristic texture of hand-struck Celtic silver coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A stylised horse advancing left, rendered in the schematic Celtic artistic tradition with disjointed anatomy typical of Iron Age British coinage. A pellet-in-ring symbol occupies the field below the horse, serving as a ground-line device. A spiral motif, interpreted as a solar symbol, appears in the upper field above the horse. Additional pellets and curvilinear ornaments animate the surrounding field, consistent with the decorative vocabulary of Atrebatic silver issues. |
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| Additional information |
The Hampshire Helmet series is attributed to the Atrebates, whose territory roughly covered modern Hampshire and Berkshire — a tribe in direct contact with Caesar's Gaulish campaigns and, by some accounts, recipients of diplomatic overtures that shaped their coinage style. The Belgic influence visible in this type reflects sustained cross-Channel cultural exchange rather than simple imitation.
ABC 851 is among the smaller silver fractions of the series, likely functioning as a fractional unit within a tiered currency system used alongside larger uninscribed staters.