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Gold Plated Stater - Antedios Anted Rig Contemporary Counterfeit
| Issuer | Dobunni tribe (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 10 BC - 10 AD |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Stater (1) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Plain field bearing the distinctive Dobunnic tree symbol, rendered in low relief with ten splayed branches radiating symmetrically from a central vertical trunk. A single pellet is placed at the base of the trunk, anchoring the design. The flan is irregular and convex, consistent with a hammered bronze core subsequently gold-plated. The overall style is characteristic of the abstract Celtic die-cutting tradition of the late Iron Age. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A stylised triple-tailed horse prancing to the right, executed in the abstract Celtic manner. The tail is divided into three distinct strands, each terminating in a pellet. The horse displays an elliptical ear rendered as a curved line. Below the horse, a six-spoked wheel occupies the lower field, a common Dobunnic reverse emblem. A V-shaped device appears beneath the tail. The tribal royal inscription is placed above the horse and distributed within the field around the legs. |
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| Additional information |
Contemporary counterfeits of Dobunni staters were produced by persons who understood the metallurgy well enough to plate bronze flans convincingly — these were not crude forgeries but deliberate, skilled deceptions circulating alongside genuine issues. The Antedios coinage itself belongs to a period of intense political fragmentation among the Dobunni, whose territory in the Severn Valley saw competing rulers issuing in their own names in rapid succession. At 1.14g, this piece sits well below the genuine stater weight, which is precisely the diagnostic the ancient passer relied on recipients failing to check.