Iceni tribe Queen Boudicca 61 AD

[Asgorath]

Iceni tribe Queen Boudicca 61 AD
AR Unit
Location: England
Weight: 1.19 g
Size: 15 mm
Condition: VF/VF
Obv: Celtized head right.
Rev: Celtized horse right.
Ref: VA 790-1, Hobbs 3556ff

[Figleaf]

Famous for her revolt against Roman rule and for the mass killing of Romans and Romanised Britons in Camulodunum (Colchester), Londinium (London) and Verulamium (St Albans). A remarkable woman.

My unreliable memory says I have read somewhere that all the coins commonly ascribed to Boudicca were either metal bars made out of the spoils of war or posthumous. Not sure why the Romans would have allowed this, though.

Peter

[BCNumismatics]

That's a very nice coin that you have got there.

I haven't got any coins of the ancient British kingdoms in England so far,as they are elusive.

Aidan.

[Figleaf]

That jogged my memory. I checked Klenoderi i Kungl. Myntkabinettet (treasures in the Royal Coin Cabinet), a collection of articles. Among them is En revolterande drottning präglar mynt (Coinage of a rebellious queen) by Eva Wiséhn. It says: "The coins from the reign of Queen Boudicca came from treasures hidden away during the ceni rebellion and basically have not been circulated." She describes the coin as: "On the obverse they display a Celtic head in profile, on the reverse a horse, and they lack inscriptions. The head may represent Juno Sospita, influenced by the Roman denarii.

The article contained a picture. On comparing your with theirs, I think your reverse should be turned 180°. I tried to, but the light angle made the picture unreadable. I don't see the "flower-like" decoration on your coin on the Swedish coin and I cannot match the obverse of your coin with the coin of the royal coin cabinet.

Peter

[andyg]

It's looks to be this type below, it has the 'sun and moons' and horse, when I bought this one it had some documentation - can I find it... no

[Figleaf]

I consulted a friend who is extremely knowledgeable in the field of Celtic coins. His reaction (my translation):

I have gone through my literature and the internet for a reference to this coin. I have not found a comparable copy. It is remarkable that the typology of this coin is most like some of the coins of the Iceni, in particular the horse to the left on the reverse. It would not surprise me if this coin would have been found in the tribal area of the Iceni. Also, it would not be surprising to see new variants surface. Celtic numismatics is far from complete.

In summary, Iceni seems likely, Boudicca is debatable.

Peter

[andyg]

Peter, In your enhanced scan you have the horse up side down

[Figleaf]

Yes. I tried to turn it around, only to get the feared "inverse look" effect, in which all the incuse parts seem raised and vice versa. Shadows and light angle play a role...

Peter