Catalog
Silver Unit Cotswold Oxo Head Type F / Antedrig Head Type
| Issuer | Dobunni tribe (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 10 BC - 10 AD |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Highly stylised and abstracted Celtic head rendered in the Dobunnic artistic tradition, depicted facing right and divided by a prominent central vertical line suggestive of a nose or facial axis. To the left of the division, a vertical row of pellet-in-annulet motifs and a central six-pointed star occupy the field, representing a schematised eye and facial ornament. To the right, curvilinear and serpentine devices rendered as volutes and scrolls evoke hair or facial features in a characteristic Iron Age decorative style. The overall composition reflects the distinctive 'Oxo Head' type, named for the ox-eye annulet motifs. No legend is present, consistent with the pre-inscription phase of Dobunnic coinage. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Dobunni occupied the fertile lands around what is now Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, and their silver coinage is notable for carrying what appear to be abbreviated ruler names — making them among the very few British Iron Age tribes whose coins may record identifiable individuals. Antedrig is one of the more obscure of these names, known almost exclusively from this coinage rather than from any external written source.
These were struck in the final decades before Roman conquest fundamentally disrupted tribal mint activity in the region.