Details

LOT 2872

Celtic Britannia. The Trinovantes AV Quarter Stater. Circa 55-45 BC.

Rowntree Fern Leaf type. Wreath crossed by spike with four pellets, crescents below, stylised hair above / Annulate horse to right with ‘leaf-like’ tail, fern-like symbol and ringed-pellet above, ‘cog-wheel’ radiant sun-sign below. ABC 2362; Van Arsdell -; BMC -; DK 442; SCBC -. Extremely Fine. Excessively rare, only a handful recorded.(1.31gr, 13mm, 6h.).

Provenance

Found near Newmarket, Suffolk, UK.

Footnotes

From Chris Rudd Auction 184, lot 25: "This splendid coin is packed with detail. The ring-ended, leafy emblem above and in the tribal mare’s tail must be its author’s personal signature, (also on silver unit ABC 2380), while the little split symbol in front, here exceptionally clear, suggests a clan associate. Several dynasts north of the Thames had vegetal emblems as insignia, and we know the names of two who later worked exactly this leafy motif into their stater designs: Tasciovanos (ABC 2553) and Andoco (ABC 2715). Our man’s sons, perhaps? There’s a handsome little hidden face at 6 o’clock on the obverse. See Hidden faces on Celtic coins, Coin News, November 2019, pp.41-43. Not in VA, BMC nor Spink."