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Ladder Mane with Warped Wing Motif. Belgae. c.50-40 BC. Celtic gold stater. 18mm. 5.22g.
1/2
Auctioneer has chosen not to publish the price of this lot
Norwich, Norfolk
Description
Ladder Mane with Warped Wing Motif. Sills Hampshire British Q Derivatives, dies 2/3. c.50-40 BC. Gold stater. 18mm. 5.22g. Wreath design with hidden face, ‘snake head’ below./ Horse right, ladder mane, modified wing motif above, wheel and rings below, anti-clockwise spiral sun in front. ABC 764, VA 346, BMC−, DK 216, S−. Good VF, lovely rose gold, well ornamented wreath motif with snake’s head, clear ladder mane, full wheel and spiral. Found Wherwell, Hants., early 1990s. EXTREMELY RARE only seven others recorded, EXCESSIVELY RARE die pair, only one other recorded. The first we’ve had and the first offered for public sale.
Ladder mane gold staters were the last of a short but coherent sequence of uninscribed regional issues, all probably struck by the same authority in northern Hampshire in the later 40s BC, very shortly before inscribed coins of Commios at last give us a ruler’s name. It may have been events following the death of this powerful individual in c.45/40 BC that led to the formation of an enlarged southern kingdom under Commios as titular head (for the history, see John Sills, Divided Kingdoms 2017 pp.189ff, 239f, 738f). Here we see some of the king’s identifying marks, in complex dies created by a peripatetic engraver who had also worked for Cassivellaunus (Catuvellauni) and for Kentish kings. The solar mare’s ladder mane resembles a military wild boar’s bristles. But who drives the chariot of state? In place of a conventional driver’s abstract arm, Ladder Mane’s first reverse die (see PAS BH-785) displayed a device with wing and sceptre, adapting Cassivellaunus’ insignia, this king’s counterpart north of the Thames. This stater, from the same dies (2/3) as ABC 764, suggest that initial emblem was subsequently modified, now resembling a horse’s head and neck. Was this a local engraver’s misunderstanding, or a deliberate reference to the horse sacrifice that would have accompanied any royal investiture at that time? This king was legitimate. “Important” new type, says Van Arsdell, “so close to the inscribed issues of Commios” (Num.Circ., April 1992, p.80). “Still only seven others recorded” says Dr John Sills (pers.comm. 16.10.2021). Only one example with the warped wing motif is known. This Wherwell stater from the early 1990s is a great rarity in wonderful condition. Not in BMC nor Spink.
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Ladder Mane with Warped Wing Motif. Sills Hampshire British Q Derivatives, dies 2/3. c.50-40 BC. Gold stater. 18mm. 5.22g. Wreath design with hidden face, ‘snake head’ below./ Horse right, ladder mane, modified wing motif above, wheel and rings below, anti-clockwise spiral sun in front. ABC 764, VA 346, BMC−, DK 216, S−. Good VF, lovely rose gold, well ornamented wreath motif with snake’s head, clear ladder mane, full wheel and spiral. Found Wherwell, Hants., early 1990s. EXTREMELY RARE only seven others recorded, EXCESSIVELY RARE die pair, only one other recorded. The first we’ve had and the first offered for public sale.
Ladder mane gold staters were the last of a short but coherent sequence of uninscribed regional issues, all probably struck by the same authority in northern Hampshire in the later 40s BC, very shortly before inscribed coins of Commios at last give us a ruler’s name. It may have been events following the death of this powerful individual in c.45/40 BC that led to the formation of an enlarged southern kingdom under Commios as titular head (for the history, see John Sills, Divided Kingdoms 2017 pp.189ff, 239f, 738f). Here we see some of the king’s identifying marks, in complex dies created by a peripatetic engraver who had also worked for Cassivellaunus (Catuvellauni) and for Kentish kings. The solar mare’s ladder mane resembles a military wild boar’s bristles. But who drives the chariot of state? In place of a conventional driver’s abstract arm, Ladder Mane’s first reverse die (see PAS BH-785) displayed a device with wing and sceptre, adapting Cassivellaunus’ insignia, this king’s counterpart north of the Thames. This stater, from the same dies (2/3) as ABC 764, suggest that initial emblem was subsequently modified, now resembling a horse’s head and neck. Was this a local engraver’s misunderstanding, or a deliberate reference to the horse sacrifice that would have accompanied any royal investiture at that time? This king was legitimate. “Important” new type, says Van Arsdell, “so close to the inscribed issues of Commios” (Num.Circ., April 1992, p.80). “Still only seven others recorded” says Dr John Sills (pers.comm. 16.10.2021). Only one example with the warped wing motif is known. This Wherwell stater from the early 1990s is a great rarity in wonderful condition. Not in BMC nor Spink.
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