PREVIEW: ANCIENT COINS & ANTIQUITIES: 5 DECEMBER

At least one source, the senator and historian Cassius Dio, points to the Celtic resistance against the Roman invasion of 43 AD being led by the Catuvellauni tribe of south-eastern Britain.

As with other major figures of the period, their king, Tasciovanus, is known only through numismatic evidence and appears to have acceded in c.20 BC. It is thought he ruled first from near modern-day Wheathampstead, later moving his tribe a few miles south to Verlamion, a site now occupied by St Albans.

 

Tasciovanus’s coinage reflects his tribe’s success in overthrowing the Trinovantes – at the time considered the most powerful of Britain’s tribes – and from c.15–10 BC, he issued coins from Camulodunum (Colchester), the Trinovantes’ capital.

When he reverted to Verlamion, his coins bore the legend RICON, for Rigonos, the Celtic Common Brittonic for ‘great/divine/legitimate king’. Some bore other abbreviated names, such as DIAS, SEGO and ANDOCO, thought to be the names of co-rulers or subordinate kings, but possibly mint marks.

When Tasciovanus died c.9 AD, his son Cunobeline – Shakespeare’s Cymbeline – who ruled primarily from Camulodunum, cemented his rule over the Trinovantes territories, his resulting influence earning him the name Britannorum rex from the Roman biographer Suetonius.

A stater for Tasciovanus in this sale is of the ‘Hidden Faces’ type – the faces revealed through closer inspection of the cruciform wreath pattern of the obverse, with crescents at centre. The reverse shows a prancing horse right, with bucranium and petal sun above, and a hook-like object below before the horse’s face.

In good to very fine condition, with a well-centred strike, as can be seen here, this is an attractive example of a rare issue and is estimated at £2,400-3,000.