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Silver 1/2 Unit Irstead Geometric / Irstead Crude Head
| Issuer | Iceni tribe (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 20 BC - 10 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | Stylised head facing right rendered in a bold, primitive Celtic idiom. The hair is depicted as well-spaced, neatly arranged radiating spikes projecting from the crown. A ringed pellet serves as the eye, and a chevron motif forms the beard below the jaw. A curved line delineates the front of the face, characteristic of the late Iceni abstract figural tradition. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A schematised horse striding to the right occupies the central field, rendered in the linear Celtic geometric style. The mane is depicted either as a series of pellets or as a single linear element, defining two distinct die varieties. Above the horse, a linear crescent flanked by two rings serves as a celestial motif. A single pellet appears below the tail, a typical Iceni divisional coin device. |
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| Additional information |
The Iceni occupied what is now Norfolk and Suffolk, and their fractional silver issues — struck in the decades immediately before Roman contact reshaped the region's political economy — circulated within a tightly bounded tribal territory. These small units were likely used for transactions where the larger gold stater was impractical, possibly in livestock or craft exchanges at local meeting places.
The Irstead findspot, a village near the Norfolk Broads, has produced enough of these pieces to anchor a distinct typological grouping in Talbot's corpus. Die-linked relationships between the Geometric and Crude Head varieties suggest they are products of the same workshop, possibly within a single generation of output.