96 - Carn Brea - The TCx3 Collection

Unique ID: 96

Technical details

DataDescriptionProvenanceReferences

Denomination	Stater	Metal	Gold
Area	Britain	Region	Southern
Issuing Authority	Atrebates	Issuer	Unknown
Weight	6.41g	Diameter	18.24mm
Rarity	Scarce (51 to 100)	Date	70 BC to 55 BC (see note about dating)

Obverse Legend	No Legend
Reverse Legend	No Legend
Obverse Description	The obverse shows a very abstracted rendering of Apollo’s head ultimately derived from the Philippus. It mainly comprises of a wreath and hairlocks, bisected by a hair bar. The hollow crescents on the right (the lower one is worn and solid and the upper one is open at the top) are hair curls, and the blob in front of them is all that remains of Apollo’s face. This is obverse die 1.
Reverse Description	The reverse shows the remnants of the horse drawn biga and Charioteer from the Philippus. The horse faces left, and has a crescent and large pellet below. The pellet field above is all that remains of the charioteer. The chariot wheel from the biga is visible on the right side as a hollow oval. This is reverse die 3

Bought from finder on Facebook (July 2020)

PAS IOW-7308F7

Found on the old grounds of Thorley Manor, Bouldnor, Isle of Wight (June 2017)

Divided Kingdoms

DK 143 – 144. British Aa1 Class 2a – Carn Brea

The Carn Brea stater is one of the earliest gold coins struck in Britain, and is contemporary with the Insular Cf coins (see 29 and 41). British Aa is the start of the Westerham coinage series, and class 2 is the first one where the charioteer is replaced with a field of pellets and where the horse takes on the disarticulated angular appearance that is the staple of the derivitive British Ab (92), Ad (104), Af (97 and 121), B (5), Da (88), and Db (59) coins.

They are found both north and south of the Thames, from Dorset to Snettisham, making it difficult to attribute them to any particular tribe. Dr. John Sills posits that they might have been minted by the forerunners of the Atrebates (See “Divided Kingdoms” p118-119). They get their name from the Carn Brea hoard found in Cornwall in 1749.