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This magnificent gold stater of
Dumnocoveros Tigirseno reminds
how widely the family of Celtic
languages spread in time and
space. The name Tikirseno ‘old
lord’ also occurs in this
ancient Iberian inscription at
Sagunto in east Spain. Tigir is
also in Vortigern ‘overlord’,
the 5th century AD ruler who
invited Anglo-Saxon mercenaries
to Britain. However, just
because Tigir of the Corieltavi
(another Celtic name) spoke
Celtic doesn’t necessarily mean
that he considered himself to be
a Celt, any more than he thought
of himself as being British
(though the latter seems more
likely). Tigir may have called
himself a Celt. But, until we
have evidence that he did, it’s
probably more helpful to think
of him as an ancient Briton and
his coins as ancient British.
This gold stater is a real
beauty. The obverse design is
satisfyingly symmetrical with
the vertical stack of brick-like
wreath leaves going straight
down the middle, neatly dividing
DVMN (which we assume to be
short for Dumnocoveros) and
forming an impactful cruciform
motif with a circular motif in
each of the four angles. It’s
worth noting that two of the
rings contain a triquetra.
Looking at this carefully
crafted, well balanced design we
are inevitably reminded of
Cunobelin’s biga type staters
which must surely have provided
the inspiration for this
north-eastern stater. The
reverse is no less attractive,
chiefly because it beautifully
displays the front part of the
horse and because the
inscription – like the DVMN on
the other side – becomes an
integral part of the overall
design, rather than appendage.
The TIGIR part of the name is
dramatically revealed in its
entirety, with every detail of
every letter clearly shown. This
stunning Dumnocoveros Tigirseno
gold stater was discovered by a
metal detectorist near Clipstone,
Notts., on the western border of
Corieltavia, 7 September 2011.
Chris Rudd March catalogue.
30.1.12 |
