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Silver Unit - Ecen Ecen Retro
| Issuer | Iceni tribe (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 35-43 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Abstract Celtic decorative design featuring two opposed outline crescents arranged back-to-back, with two pellets placed between them in the field. The central motif is set upon a vertical wreath pattern composed of two parallel lines, from which rows of pellets extend perpendicularly outward, forming a structured linear border. The overall composition is characteristic of the geometric, non-figurative artistic tradition of the Iceni coinage, devoid of inscriptions on this side. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A stylised Celtic horse advances to the right, rendered in the characteristic Iceni linear tradition. The horse exhibits doubled upper forelegs and a solid Y-shaped linear head, with individual dashes indicating the mane and a cluster of six pellets marking the shoulder. Below the horse's head appears the letter S, while a pelletal sun symbol occupies the upper field above the animal. A retrograde inscription in degraded Latin lettering appears below the horse, reading ECE, representing a retrograde rendering of the tribal name ECEN. |
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| Additional information |
The Iceni occupied what is now Norfolk and parts of Suffolk, and their coinage circulated during the final years before the Claudian invasion of 43 AD effectively ended indigenous British minting. The "Ecen" inscription on this type is one of the earliest uses of a tribal name on British coinage — a deliberate assertion of collective identity rather than individual royal authority, unusual in the Celtic world where ruler names dominated.
Production almost certainly ceased abruptly in 43 AD. Some issues may have continued briefly under early Roman occupation, but the conquest severed the tradition within a generation.