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Triskeles Sale 20  30 Jun 2017
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Lot 21

Estimate: 150 USD
Price realized: 120 USD
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Britain, Southern Region. Regni & Atrebates. Verica. Ca. A.D. 10-40. AR minim (8 mm, 0.22 g, 8 h). Verica Cornucopiae Eagle type. Pine-cone wand (thyrsus) between two cornucopiae, wine cup below / Eagle flying left. ABC 1322; Van Arsdell 555; BMC 1543-58; SCBC 154. Scarce. Toned. Good very fine.

From the KJG Collection of British Celtic Coins. Ex Rudd 73 (January 2004), 26.

The pine-cone wand or thyrsus is an attribute of the Greek god Dionysos, the god of wine and festivity. The drinking cup that holds the thyrsus positively identifies the type as Dionysiac, but the reason for the association is not known. Perhaps it illustrates a particular love for Greek vintages, which the 'barbarians' like the Celts in England were notorious for consuming neat (i.e., undiluted with water as the Greeks drank their wines) and in prodigious quantities.

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