Unique ID: 5
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).
