56 - Beaded Trophy - The TCx3 Collection

Unique ID: 56

Technical details

DataDescriptionProvenanceReferences

Denomination	Quarter Stater	Metal	Gold
Area	Britain	Region	North Thames
Issuing Authority	Segontiaci	Issuer	Unknown
Weight	1.35g	Diameter	12.36mm
Rarity	Very Rare (16 to 30)	Date	53 BC to 40 BC (see note about dating)

Obverse Legend	No Legend
Reverse Legend	No Legend
Obverse Description	The obverse is blank apart from a pellet and two faint bands. This banding is common on Cantiaci gold coins.
Reverse Description	The reverse is derived from the British P “Tree Triangle” quarter and centres around a tree like object (also described as a trophy). It has six branches at the top, three at each side, and a ringed pellet at the base. From this comes three “roots”. Two of these are looping beaded lines, and the central root is made from two adjacent wedge shapes. Only the three lines that form the tips of these are visible on this coin. To the left and right of the trunk are two large rectangles. The sides nearer the tree are filled with a large X, and the sides near the edge of the coin are filled with a cross. Above these on each side are ringed pellets (one per side) with “wings”. Above the tree is a double ringed pellet with three rings above.

Bt. Mike Vosper (2019)

Ex Chris Rudd List 87, number 14 (2006)

CCI 06.0149 on the CR ticket, but 05.0214 in “Divided Kingdoms: The Iron Age Gold Coinage of Southern England”

Found White Roding, Essex early 2005

ABC	ABC 2243. Beaded Trophy
Divided Kingdoms	DK 452. British Le2 – Beaded Trophy

The Beaded Trophy quarter stater is part of the British Le2 series which was minted by an unknown tribe in the Essex area. There are four types of Le2 quarter staters, the others being Double Snake (see 57), Floret (see 60), and S Type (see 55), all featuring the banded obverses that were a staple of the coins from Kent. They also all have reverses derived from GB-D, which is also common for Kentish coins (see 44), suggesting that the tribe responsible had emigrated from Kent to North of the Thames. Caesar named five tribes who surrendered to him north of the Thames, and the S on the obverse of the S Type suggests that it might have been the Segontiaci.

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