Lot 4632

Description

Ancient British, North Thames Region, Eastern, Uninscribed coins, SS type, (c.55-45 B.C.), gold stater, (5.55 g), obv. two reversed S-shapes on lightly banded flan, rev. annulate horse to right, tail splitting into three strands, beaded mane, clumpy hooves, wing motif, uncertain object (charioteer's arms?) and pellet triad above, (S.34, ABC 2237, Van A 109, NT 5-6, BMC 350, M 146, CCI 08.9036 [this coin]). Nice round flan of good gold, attractive horse, well ornamented, good very fine - nearly extremely fine and excessively rare.

Private purchase from Chris Rudd, list 98, #42.



Found near Waldringfield, Suffolk, 1/3/2007.



This gold stater is excessively rare with only five others recorded.



The SS type displays elements that suggests that it was inspired by Cantian prototypes. John Sills notes that it is only the sixth SS stater recorded by the Celtic Coin Index, and the second example from this reverse die. The staters are usually found in Essex and were almost certainly struck on Trinovantian territory, but have banded obverses more typical of the Cantii. The coinage does not fit easily into the Trinovantian series and may be evidence that the Cantii controlled part of Essex from an early date. We are still uncertain as to the meaning of the reverse SS letters on the obverse, but Caesar mentions that one of the four kings of Kent in 54 B.C. was called Segovax.