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This is an
unusually appealing specimen of
a Commios E-Type gold stater.
The images on both sides of the
coin are standing out in high
relief and the gold has
weathered well in the ground.
The little hidden face on the
obverse is clearly seen,
including its two eyes. The
three-tailed horse is most
attractively displayed,
including its two ears. The
three key symbols on the reverse
– the E-sign, the spoked solar
wheel and the trefoil – are also
well struck. Moreover the main
portion of the king’s name is
neatly lettered either side of
the horses’s forelegs (many
examples fail to reveal even a
single letter of the
inscription). Dr Daphne Nash
Briggs, author of Coinage in
the Celtic World, has
suggested to me that the E-sign
may represent the first two
letters of a sacred name, Eisu.
A fascinating thought and one
which has never occurred to me.
Chris Rudd
November catalogue.
19.10.09 |
