Angular Bull Potins - S 63

[John Conduitt]

The Thurrock potins I posted earlier came from a larger lot that also contained some examples of their 'descendents', known as Angular Bull potins. The name comes from their devolved, stylised representation of the bull found on Thurrock potins. Indeed, without Thurrock potins, you wouldn't know it was a bull. Apollo doesn't look himself either.

Like Thurrock potins, Angular Bull potins come in a variety of designs, charting the development from Thurrock potins via the period Van Arsdell calls the 'Rounded Bull' style into complete abstraction. (Van Arsdell, however, doesn't think Angular Bull potins evolved from Thurrock potins, but there is a common ancestor of both his theory and the more generally accepted view in the form of 'Cantian Prototypes'). Again, you wouldn't know about all this variety from Spink, which lists them all as S 63. At least everyone agrees they come from Kent.

Cantian D Class I Angular Bull Potin, 85-50BCCantii Tribe, Kent. Bronze, 11-17mm, 1.36g. Head of Apollo right, pellet in centre. Bull of straight lines butting left (S 63; VA 129).

Below is another variation I bought some time ago. As you can see, this time Apollo is facing left. The bull is facing the same way - the longer line on the right joined to the crescents at the top is the tail, in case you were wondering - but on the coin below the bull is even more angular and devolved, and the central pellet is large. It seems the coin above is a little earlier in the range, the bull being closer to the Rounded Bull type, which Van Arsdell puts at 90-75BC.

Cantian D Class I Angular Bull Potin, 85-50BCCantii Tribe, Kent. Bronze, 17mm, 1.79g. Head of Apollo left. Bull of straight lines butting left (S 63; ABC 171; VA 133).

See also:
Thurrock Potins (Trinovantian A)
Strated Potins (Cantian C)
Dump Potins (Cantian E)

Edited May 13, 2023 by John Conduitt