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The Clacton de Jersey quarter staters were minted by the Trinovantes, and Dr. John Sills posits that they were minted after the start of the Gallic wars in 58 BC but before the first invasion of Britain by Caesar in 55 BC. The are named after Dr. Phillip de Jersey who identified them and attributed them to the British G staters.

Sills (“Divided Kingdoms: The Iron Age Gold Coinage of Southern England”) breaks the Clacton de Jersey type down into 3 classes, with this coin being part of the largest class, Class 2a. See 69 and 82 for examples of the extremely rare class 2B.

Gallo Belgic Ca2, or GB-Ca2 for short, is the quarter stater that accompanied the ubiquitous GB-Ca staters. These were minted in stages between 125 BC and 58 BC. This coin is class 3 (of 6) so was minted around 123 BC to 102 BC for the Cimbric wars.

This is one of three GB-Ca2 quarters (of any class) in my collection (see 45 and 52)

This is a very late example of a “Flat Linear Potin”, and it is almost one of the last potins minted in Britain. These strange coins were cast in a tin-rich bronze, but we don’t know why. Their low value makes them the equivalent of small change, but their weights are too variable within a class to be treated as a currency, and transactions would have to be done by weight unless they were being used as trade tokens. They are dark in appearance, but would have been bright like silver when they were first made.

This coin is classed as a Holman G3/6-1 (Allen P1; VA 139-1; ABC 174). It’s not one of the published variants, although Holman does say “Attempting to detail the series to the same level as a thorough die study is probably futile, given that a minor subvariant could occur through something as simple as the moneyer sneezing while preparing the design, causing a slight but unintended change in that design” (see “A New Classification System for the Flat Linear Potin Coinage” by David Holman). This is because each coin seems to have been hand drawn in the mould, so each coin is different in some way. The final class was G4, and they are thought to be contemporary with G3, so it’s amongst the last minted in Britain. Class G coins are distinct from the earlier coins, having a reduced size and a crude appearance.

Holman suggests the date range for group G coins is 60/55 BC to 50/45 BC, although he does say “the dates given should only be accepted as notional ranges based on the currently very limited evidence”.

There are a significant number of Group G finds in Hertfordshire and up through Essex into the southern half of East Anglia. Group G4 is mainly found in West Essex and East Hertfordshire suggesting that it was minted by someone in that area. It’s possible it was the same tribe (perhaps the Segontiaci) who migrated from Kent to Essex and minted the British Le2 quarter staters (see 55, 56, 57, and 60). This coin is G3, not G4, so the distribution isn’t quite so clear cut. The majority of finds are in Kent, but the finds in the aforementioned areas are significant in number. It’s possible we’re looking at a tribe on the move, which might account for the crude design and smaller size. This is pure speculation though, so it remains assigned to the Cantiaci.

There are a number of ways to measure these coins. I normally record the maximum width (15.7mm), but for potins that includes the size of the remaining sprue, which isn’t indicative of the intended size. The minimum width (13.43 mm) is closer, but that can include flash overspill from the mould. The diameter of the containing circle (12.54mm) is probably the most useful measurement.

Despite the fact that the first Horse Geometric (previously Bearded Head) quarter stater was sold in 1993, you still won’t find it 27 years later in any reference books. Cutting a long story short, it appears that the original finder(s) lied about the findspot to hide an undeclared hoard. This, along with the highly unusual obverse design (it was initially thought to be a bearded head), the paucity of dies, and some other factors, has led some to doubt the authenticity of the coins.

If the coins are fake then we would hope to find some evidence of that on the coins themselves, but even as late as 2018, a meeting between Chris Rudd Ltd., Dr. Philip de Jersey, and Dr. John Sills, failed to reach a conclusion. Stated another way, in the quarter of a century after the first coin was sold, the premier experts in the field, along with other respected dealers who have sold these coins, have been unable to identify anything that condemns any of the coins. Despite a detailed analysis of the coins individually and as a group, it appears that there is nothing actually wrong with them.

Horse Geometric quarter staters have been found in recent years by metal detectorists who are not all known to each other and have no connection to the original finders. Additionally, all of the arguments I know of (apart from one) which have been used to cast doubt on them have been refuted and can be ignored. For example:

• the argument that they all come from the same reverse die fails because one of the coins was struck by a different reverse die
• the argument that they are “curiously well centred” fails when the displacement of the die centre from the flan centre is measured. It turns out that these coins have worse centring than another quarter stater type that is known to be genuine
• the argument that no one will record them with PAS (Portable Antiquities Scheme) is no longer true as two are now recorded. More would be recorded, but as the finder of mine said “it would just be marked as authenticity uncertain so there is no point sending it to them”

Other arguments have been made, but the ones above are the strongest ones. The remaining point of doubt is that the orginal coins were found around the same time (early 1990s) as a group of fake Cheriton Smiler staters which were possibly copied from real finds (I haven’t been able to confirm the details). It’s possible that the original Horse Geometric finders did something similar, but that only allows doubt to be cast on some of the original coins. Ones found in recent years by independent detectorists can be assumed to be genuine.

The coins were originally named “Bearded Head” because of the abstract bearded head that appears on the obverse. However, this appears to have been an optical illusion caused by circulation and die wear on the coin sold by Chris Rudd who named the type. There’s very little on the obverse to suggest that this is a head, and the standard hair bar, wreath, hair locks, hair curls, and face are all missing. I have been unable to see a head on any of the coins apart from the original Chris Rudd coin (it is very clear on that coin).

Another interpretation of the obverse exists if the coin is rotated 90 degrees anti-clockwise. In this orientation an abstract horse with one of its forelegs raised can be seen. While it is certainly strange to have a horse on the obverse of a gold Celtic coin rather than Apollo’s head, we can consider this as an experiment that didn’t lead anywhere. After all, the “two men in a boat” quarters don’t follow the traditional Apollo’s Head iconography, and if you subscribe to the argument that the boat should be rotated and be described as an “abstract beast”, then that certainly doesn’t follow the traditional iconography either (and it provides an opening for an abstract horse). Neither do many other types. The British C Yarmouth stater shows definite experimentation, and later coins dispensed with Apollo’s head altogether. The Huxtable’s Eagles quarter stater (ABC 782) is particularly interesting as it has two horse heads, two eagles, and a pellet infill on the obverse.

The reverse of the coin shows an intricate rendering of the standard “geometric” designs that derive from GB-Ca2 quarters. Quite what it represented is unknown, but someone (a trawlerman) who saw it said straight away that it was a fisherman’s catch. There is a theory that quarters staters were used to pay sailors and staters used to pay soldiers, so a fishing theme would fit nicely with that, especially if the GB-Ca2 quarters (and their derivatives) do show two men in a boat on the obverse.

The metal content of the one coin analysed is 24.8% gold, 44.5% silver, and 30.4% copper, which suggests that this is the companion quarter to the British C Yarmouth stater (see 101), which is 28.9% gold, 47.4% silver, and 23.6% copper. They are found in the same areas, and the Yarmouth stater is renowned for being visually “weird”. Until further information comes to light, I’ll consider this to be British C2 and a product of the Regini tribe, or whoever minted the Yarmouth staters.

For more information on these coins, see Bearded Head Quarter Staters - Fact or Fiction.

The Duro Boat Gold and the Duro Boat Bird quarter staters were minted by the Durotriges around 80-50 BC and 50-20 BC respectively. They are a continuation of the boat and geometric theme started by the Morini tribe with their GB-Ca2 and GB-D quarter staters. The Durotriges started minting these coins in gold but transitioned to silver as their gold stocks ran out. The transition between the gold and silver coinages is subtle and it’s not always clear whether a particular coin should be categorised as Duro Boat Gold (gold) or Duro Boat Bird (silver). The blue iridescent toning on this coin shows that it has a high silver content, but as it has a significant golden hue it could be assigned to either. My opinion is that if I’m not sure if it’s gold, then it’s not.

This is one of eight in the collection (see 1, 9, 13, 15, 100, 110, and 118).

The Hampshire Thunderbolt quarter staters were minted by the Belgae (or more likely an unknown tribe no longer in the historical record) around 53-50 BC. They are a continuation of the boat and geometric theme started by the Morini tribe with their GB-Ca2 and GB-D quarter staters. This coin is obverse die 1, reverse die 7. Only three coins with this reverse are listed in “Divided Kingdoms”.

This is one of twelve in the collection (see 2, 14, 32, 37, 40, 43, 50, 117, 120, 122, and 123).

The Chute stater is probably the most common British gold stater, and one of the most recognisable. It’s characterised by a small crab-like object under the horse, and despite being struck from eighty three reverse dies, the design is almost entirely static. The crab object gains pellet terminations in class 1b (midway through obverse 1), and then some fine pellet detailing is added from obverse three onwards.

The weight and gold content are also remarkably consistent from start to end. Chutes begin with a median weight of 6.1g and end at 6.06g. The gold content is 45% for obverse 1, dropping to around 36-39% for all other obverses. This, along with the static image, suggests it was a short issue, minted in perhaps only two batches; the first batch consisting of obverses one and two (forty two reverse dies), and the second from obverse 3 to obverse 10 (forty one reverse dies). It’s possible the drop in gold after obverse 1, which coincides with a break in the die chain, signifies another batch of coins. If it does, then the three batches were of unequal size.

Chute staters, and the accompanying Hampshire Thunderbolt quarter staters (see 2, 14, 28, 32, 37, 40, 43, 50, 117, 120, 122, and 123), are attributed to the Belgae, but it's more likely that they were minted by an unknown tribe no longer in the historical record. It seems that the two large batches of coins may have been minted in preparation for a war, or to pay tribute to the attacking tribe(s).

The Eye Star quarter stater is an insular derivative of the Bellovaci’s “à l’astre” quarter staters. The obverse features a wreath and large eye with a star next to it. It’s similar to the Bellovaci coins, but can’t be die matched to any known ones. The reverse features a right facing horse like the Bellovaci coins, but it has a triple tail and a pellet flower below, both of which are common on southern British coins, but don’t appear on the continental coins. This is the second coin known, and the only one with this reverse die. The other coin has a star below the horse instead of a flower, but it’s possible that this was originally a flower (the die appears to be damaged in this area).

The Cantiaci tribe were both early and late to minting coins. They were the first British tribe to mint coins at all, with their cast bronze Potins, but because the region was awash with gold from Belgic Gaul, there was no need for them to mint their own gold coins until after the Gallic wars. This coin, the Treelike Trophy, was their first gold coin. It’s derived from the GB-D “Two Rosettes” quarter staters (70 and 93).

This particular coin is reverse die 4, and is one of only two coins known from this reverse die.

The Duro Boat Gold and the Duro Boat Bird quarter staters were minted by the Durotriges around 80-50 BC and 50-20 BC respectively. They are a continuation of the boat and geometric theme started by the Morini tribe with their GB-Ca2 and GB-D quarter staters. The Durotriges started minting these coins in gold but transitioned to silver as their gold stocks ran out. The transition between the gold and silver coinages is subtle and it’s not always clear whether a particular coin should be categorised as Duro Boat Gold (gold) or Duro Boat Bird (silver). This one has a significant golden hue it could be assigned to either, but there’s definitley silver in the mix, so I’ll assign it to the silver coins.

This is one of eight in the collection (see 1, 9, 13, 15, 99, 110, and 118).