Catalog
Stater - Vosenos Dragon
| Issuer | Cantii tribe (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 10 BC - 5 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Blank or nearly featureless convex obverse field, characteristic of the late Cantian gold stater series derived from the Gallo-Belgic E (Ambiani) prototype. The surface retains the broad, smooth flan typical of hammered Celtic coinage, with faint diagonal striations visible across the field — vestigial traces of the wreath motif inherited from the original Macedonian gold stater of Philip II. No legend or identifiable device is present on this face. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Cantii occupied the territory now recognizable as Kent, and their coinage of this period reflects increasing contact — and political pressure — from Rome in the years following Caesar's expeditions. Vosenos is known only through his coins; no Roman source names him, and his precise relationship to the other Cantian rulers issuing simultaneously remains unresolved. The tribe was unusual in producing multiple concurrent dynastic issues rather than a single unified royal coinage.
The "Dragon" classification within the Vosenos series refers to the distinctive abstract horse derivative on the reverse — a product of generations of stylistic drift from Macedonian prototypes filtered through Gaulish intermediaries before reaching British workshops.