Unique ID: 92
The Great Waltham Curved Neck stater stands at the end of a complicated sequence that derives from the British Aa1 staters (see 96). The sequence is:
- British Ab1 Class 1
- British Ac1 Class 2 (a and b) “Ingoldisthorpe”. Note Ac rather than Ab
- British Ab1 Class 3. Note Ab again rather than Ac.
This intermingling of Ab and Ac occurs because some class 3 coins were struck with class 2 (Ac1) obverse dies, and some with class 2 (Ac1) reverse dies. This merging of dies is also seen in the corresponding quarters.
In terms of dating, “ABC” assigns it to the 80-50 BC range, and John Sills assigns it to around 55 BC to 54 BC in “Divided Kingdoms” (p713). Chris Rudd Ltd. assigns it to both the 75-65 BC range (Auction 167 Lot 24, October 2019) and c. 54 BC (Auction 165 Lot 27, June 2019).
John Sills’ theory is that the whole Ab/Ac series was minted for the second invasion of Britain in 54 BC. His reasoning is that the Ac staters copy features from GB-E class 4L staters (minted around 54 to 53 BC) and GB-D class 5 quarters (minted around 55 to 54 BC) so must be contemporary with, or postdate, that. He also argues that the coins in circulation north of the Thames (British Ab-c, F and G) were replaced by the British L coins, and he dates them to 53 BC and the immediate aftermath of the second invasion.
