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Silver Unit - Berkshire Abingdon Head
| Issuer | Atrebates and Regini tribes (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 55 BC - 40 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A stylised horse prancing to the right occupies the central field, its mane rendered as a series of ladder-like horizontal strokes, a diagnostic feature of this Atrebatic type. Smaller subsidiary horse motifs are positioned above and below the principal animal, filling the field in a characteristic Celtic horror vacui arrangement. Curved lines, pellets, and scrollwork further populate the field, typical of the abstract decorative vocabulary employed by Atrebatic die-cutters. No legends or inscriptions are present, consistent with the pre-dynastic coinage of the region. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Atrebates occupied territory spanning modern Berkshire, Hampshire, and Sussex, and by the mid-first century BC were absorbing significant Continental influence through trade and migration from the Belgic Atrebates of Gaul — Caesar's campaigns against those same Gaulish tribes almost certainly disrupted those networks directly. The "Abingdon Head" type takes its name from the findspot concentration around the upper Thames valley, suggesting a northern distribution zone for Atrebatic coinage distinct from the tribe's political heartland further south.
ABC 1007 belongs to a fractional denomination tradition typical of late Iron Age silver issues, where small units likely facilitated localized exchange rather than large-scale tribute payments.