Gold Stater Freckenham Crescents Rosette and Star / Freckenham Crescents

Features

Issuer	Iceni tribe (Celtic Britain)
Type	Standard circulation coins
Years	5 BC - 5 AD
Value	Stater (1)
Currency	Stater
Composition	Złoto
Weight	5.4 g
Diameter	17 mm
Shape	Okrągły (nieregularny)
Technique	Młotkowana
Orientation	Variable alignment ↺
Demonetized	Yes
Number	N# 460676
References	ABC# 1444 Elizabeth Cottam, Philip de Jersey, Chris Rudd, John Sills; 2010. Ancient British Coins. Chris Rudd, Aylsham, United Kingdom. , Van Arsdell# 620-09 Robert D. Van Arsdell; 1989. Celtic Coinage of Britain. Spink & Son, London, United Kingdom. , Sp# 426 Standard Catalogue of British Coins (37 volumes). , BMC Iron# 3386, 3387, 3388, 3389 Richard Hobbs; 1996. British Iron Age coins in the British Museum. British Museum, London, United Kingdom. , Mack# 398 Richard Paston Mack; 1975. The Coinage of Ancient Britain. Spink & Son, London, United Kingdom. , Talbot MfT# Boar Horse B I John Talbot; 2017. Made for Trade: A New View of Icenian Coinage. Oxbow, Oxford, United Kingdom. , COI# 52a, 52b, 52c, 52d Elizabeth Cottam, Chris Rudd; 2022. Coins of the Iceni. Chris Rudd, Aylsham, United Kingdom.

Series: Denominational Period II

Obverse

(en) Solid back-to-back crescents. Row of pellets projecting from each concave side. V-shape at each point of the crescents. Pellet triad above and below. Bold step across the flan below.

Reverse

(en) Horse right, large round head with closed mouth, beaded mane. Beaded ring, pellet triad in ring or pelleted ringed pellet (rosette or daisy) above. Six-pointed star below.

Comments

(en)

Evans: XXIII.1 (1890, p. 579, pl. XXIII).

Allen Type: British Na.

Van Arsdell Classification: Icenian B, Early Uninscribed Gold Types, Later Freckenham Gold Types.

Chris Rudd (ABC) ‘Freckenham Crescents Rosette and Star’.

Talbot Boar Horse B I. The middle of the denominational period saw the introduction of back-to-back crescents. The Boar Horse B unit is the link between a period of stater hoarding and the end of Icenian coinage. It was struck at Mint A, which was responsible for most gold and used the most dies, characterised by a horse with an open head. Boar Horse B and Boar Horse B (A) were produced at separate workshops, with the latter focused on the east. The horse’s head changes from an open 8-shape to a pellet-and-arc, with Boar Horse B (A) only using the later style. The Boar Horse quarter has an obverse die almost identical to Dubnovellaunos’s Trefoil (ABC 2395), which is where the trefoil comes from. The stepping horse also comes from Dubnovellaunos’s and Catuvellaunian coinage (see ABC 321). These similarities probably had political significance.

Talbot Chronology: Gallo-Belgic E/Ingoldisthorpe - Early Local Period I (55BC-35BC) - Early Local Period II (35BC-15BC) - Denominational Period I (15BC-5: Snettisham - Plouviez - Irstead - Early Boar Horse) - Denominational Period II (5-25: Boar Horse B - Boar Horse C) - Denominational Period III (25-45).

Cottam and Rudd list four types:
COI 52a (ABC 1444) - Freckenham Crescents Rosette and Star (63 known): Pelleted ringed pellet (rosette) above horse.
COI 52b - Freckenham Crescents Triad in Ring (24 known): Pellet triad in pellet ring above horse (see Chris Rudd List 201, 20 July 2025, lot 18).
COI 52c - Freckenham Crescents Triad Above Step (45 known): Lower triad is above not below the step. Pellet triad in pellet ring above horse.
COI 52d - Freckenham Crescents Beaded Ring (29 known): Lower triad is above not below the step. Horse has simplified head, beaded ring above.
COI 52e is listed separately as Freckenham Crescents Ring and Star (ABC 1447).

Cottam and Rudd Chronology: Gallic War Unity (55-50BC) - Post-War Austerity (50-35BC) - Peaceful Prosperity (35BC-20) - Client-State Conformity (20-47) - Claudian Regality (43-47).

British Museum metallurgical analysis RL186: Au 37%, Ag 14%, Cu 46%.

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Date	References
Undetermined
ND (5 BC - 5 AD)	COI# 52a Elizabeth Cottam, Chris Rudd; 2022. Coins of the Iceni. Chris Rudd, Aylsham, United Kingdom.	(en) Pelleted ringed pellet above horse
ND (5 BC - 5 AD)	COI# 52b Elizabeth Cottam, Chris Rudd; 2022. Coins of the Iceni. Chris Rudd, Aylsham, United Kingdom.	(en) Pellet triad in pellet ring above horse
ND (5 BC - 5 AD)	COI# 52c Elizabeth Cottam, Chris Rudd; 2022. Coins of the Iceni. Chris Rudd, Aylsham, United Kingdom.	(en) Lower triad is above not below the step. Pellet triad in pellet ring above horse
ND (5 BC - 5 AD)	COI# 52d Elizabeth Cottam, Chris Rudd; 2022. Coins of the Iceni. Chris Rudd, Aylsham, United Kingdom.	(en) Lower triad is above not below the step. Horse has simplified head, beaded ring above

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Examples of the type

Picture 1 of the example of Gold Stater (Freckenham Crescents Rosette and Star / Freckenham Crescents)

Picture 2 of the example of Gold Stater (Freckenham Crescents Rosette and Star / Freckenham Crescents)

© British Museum, 1919,0213.522
ND (5 BC - 5 AD) – COI# 52d – (en) Lower triad is above not below the step. Horse has simplified head, beaded ring above • Norwich, Norfolk • 17.5 mm • 5.47 g

Metallurgical analysis RL186: Au 37%, Ag 14%, Cu 46%.

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Past sales

Pictures	Sale	Date	Version	Grade	Sold price
	Noonans Auction 319 Lot 1021	6 Mar 2025	ND (5 BC - 5 AD) – COI# 52a – (en) Pelleted ringed pellet above horse	VF	USD 1075.49 (GBP 800.00) (+ buyer's premium)
© NOONANS
	Noonans 18 Sep 2013 Auction - Sale 114 Lot 1302	18 Sep 2013	ND (5 BC - 5 AD) – COI# 52c – (en) Lower triad is above not below the step. Pellet triad in pellet ring above horse	VF	USD 699.07 (GBP 520.00) (+ buyer's premium)
© NOONANS