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Potin Unit Curved Bull
| Issuer | Cantii tribe (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 100 BC - 85 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Cast |
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| Obverse description | Highly stylised, schematic head of Apollo rendered in outline, facing left or right depending on die variant. The facial features are reduced to abstract linear elements characteristic of late Iron Age Celtic casting tradition, with the cranial outline dominating the flat, irregular flan. No legend or inscription appears in the field. The design derives ultimately from Massaliote prototypes but is strongly abstracted through successive Celtic reinterpretation. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Schematic outline bull advancing left or right, rendered in a curved, highly stylised Celtic linear idiom. The body of the animal is depicted with a pronounced arching back and boldly curved hindquarters, with minimal anatomical detail. Pellet or annulet elements may appear in the field. The design is cast in low relief on an irregularly shaped flan, consistent with the hand-cast production technique of Cantian potin coinage. No legend or inscription is present. |
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| Additional information |
Potin coinage in Britain was not locally invented — it arrived as a concept from the Gallo-Belgic tradition, with the Cantii of southeast Kent among the earliest British tribes to adopt the cast alloy format. The "Curved Bull" type belongs to a transitional moment when indigenous British issues were beginning to diverge stylistically from their Continental prototypes, the bull motif degenerating across successive casting generations into increasingly abstract forms.
Cast rather than struck, which makes surface porosity and casting seams the relevant condition factors for this type — not wear patterns.