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Silver Unit - Belgae Kingsclere Horse Box
| 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 | Two stylised horses depicted facing one another in a confronted arrangement, each rendered in the abstract Celtic tradition with ladder-pattern manes composed of parallel horizontal lines. Between the two horse heads, a prominent rectangular box motif is centrally positioned, its interior decorated with rows of pellets and horizontal divisions. The field is populated with annulets, pellets, and curvilinear ornamental devices characteristic of Late Iron Age British coinage. The flan is irregular and slightly convex, with the design struck with the bold, fluid artistry typical of Atrebatic silverwork. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A single stylised horse is depicted in profile facing right, rendered in the schematic Celtic manner with disjointed, abstracted body parts unified by flowing curved lines and pellet ornaments. Above the horse, a prominent spiral or triskele motif represents a solar symbol, surrounded by additional annulets and crescentic devices filling the field. The horse's body is composed of bold relief curves, with a beaded underbelly line and exaggerated haunches typical of Atrebatic silver unit coinage. The irregular flan shows natural edge cracking consistent with hammered Iron Age production, and patches of green patination are visible across the surface. |
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| Additional information |
The Kingsclere Horse Box type takes its name from the Hampshire findspot cluster that first brought it to scholarly attention, a localized distribution pattern suggesting limited regional circulation rather than wider tribal exchange. The Atrebates under Commius — who arrived in Britain as Caesar's diplomatic envoy before switching sides during the Gallic revolt of 54–52 BC — began producing silver coinage that drew directly on Continental Gaulish prototypes he would have known firsthand. That biographical detail makes Atrebatic coinage of this period genuinely unusual: the man most plausible as its initiator had personally witnessed Roman monetary culture and chose deliberate divergence from it.