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Silver 1/2 Unit Harlow Horses
| Issuer | Catuvellauni tribe (Celtic Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 40 BC - 30 BC |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Obverse description | An annulate horse moving left occupies the central field, rendered in the stylised Celtic tradition characteristic of late Iron Age British coinage. Two corded spears are depicted top to tail above the horse, forming a distinctive compositional element. A pellet-in-ring motif appears both in front of and above the horse, serving as fill ornaments typical of Catuvellaunian die work. The flan is small and irregular, consistent with the struck half-unit denomination. No legend or inscription is present, as is standard for this pre-Romanisation series. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The Catuvellauni dominated a substantial portion of what is now Hertfordshire and Essex in the decades before the Claudian invasion, and their coinage reflects a tribe at the height of regional influence — issuing fractional denominations that facilitated small-scale exchange across a trading network centered on oppida like Wheathampstead and later Verulamium. The "Harlow Horses" designation comes from findspot clustering around the Harlow temple complex in Essex, a ritual site where votive coin deposits have skewed the archaeological distribution of this type considerably.
At 0.3 g, these fractions were among the smallest silver pieces in circulation anywhere in late Iron Age Britain.