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Potin Unit Rounded Bull / Holman D4
| Issuer | Cantii tribe (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 95 BC - 80 BC |
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| Currency | Stater |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Stylised outline head of Apollo facing right in the Celtic tradition, typically accompanied by a neckline. The facial features — including the nose — may appear in either closed or open form depending on the die variety. The eye is rendered as a ring, present with or without a central pellet, a diagnostic feature distinguishing the two principal sub-types. The overall treatment reflects the characteristic Celtic abstraction of classical Hellenistic prototypes. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Cantii occupied what is now Kent, and their potin coinage — cast rather than struck, in a tin-bronze alloy — represents one of the earliest indigenous coinages of Britain, predating the Roman invasion by a century. The technology almost certainly arrived via Gaulish contact, with prototypes ultimately traceable to Massaliote bronze issues. By the time this type was being produced, the form had been so thoroughly abstracted through generations of copying that the original figurative source is barely recoverable.
Van Arsdell 119-03 sits among the later, more degenerate iterations of the series. The casting process frequently left surface irregularities that modern collectors mistake for damage.