Lot 4: Britain, Kent Region. Cantiaci. Uncertain rulers. Ca. 120-100 B.C. Cast Æ unit. Thurrock MA type.

Britain, Kent Region. Cantiaci. Uncertain rulers. Ca. 120-100 B.C. Cast Æ unit (17 mm, 3.93 g, 2 h). Thurrock MA type. Laureate head of Apollo left / Bull butting right; no trace of inscription (MA) remaining. ABC 43; Van Arsdell 1402-42; BMC 660-5; SCBC 62. Dark greenish-black patina. Good very fine for the issue.

From the KJG Collection of British Celtic Coins. Ex Rudd 109 (January 2010), 12.

These earliest Cantian coins were made of a tin-rich bronze alloy and cast in trees or lattices of individual coins. On the present specimen, the sprues are still present at 12h and 6h. The types copy coins from Massalia, a Greek settlement on the southern coast of Gaul, and often even have the legend MA clear and identifiable. Here is it not, probably never having even been in the mold. The earliest Cantian cast bronzes of this type have clear and identifiable types, as here. Subsequently, however, the head of Apollo devolves into a simple blob, the bull into a line.

• Offered By: Barry P. Murphy
• Lot #: 4
• Listing #: 216470
• Closed: Friday, June 30, 2017 3:01:00 PM CT
• Estimate: $200
• Collection: KJG Collection of British Celtic Coins