Silver Unit - Aunt Cost Blundered Legend

3 in the Celtic Coin Index (CCI 12.0173, CCI 98.2252, CCI 95.1362).

Leins Type: AVN 4a, AVN 4c, AVN 4d (BNJ 2007, p.43-6). Leins distinguishes inscriptions CVTAS (Leins Type 4a; CCI 98.2252), VVNV (Leins Type 4c; CCI 95.1362) and VATA (Leins Type 4d).

S 403A is described as inscription between three lines on the obverse, and horse left with AVN inscription on the reverse, but is not equated with ABC 1944, ABC 1947 or ABC 1950, which could fit the description.

Van Arsdell calls the inscription on the Catus Cnavo coin (ABC 1947) "gibberish", especially given retrograde letters. However, Chris Rudd (in ABC) suggests CATVS and CNAVO could be a single name, Catuscunavos. The Catus Cnavo coin, of which there are seven obverse dies, is otherwise the same as the Cutas Cnavo unit (ABC 1944), of which there are five dies, a unique coin inscribed Aota Cosn (N 470892), and this coin, which Rudd even calls Blundered Legend. Rudd and Van Arsdell attribute these to Aunt Cost (whose name is some variation on Aunt, Aun, Cost, Ost and Ast) on account of the AVN inscription seen on the more regular Aunt Cost coins with retrograde CO below (or some blundered version of that). Catus Cnavo/Cutas Cnavo could refer to Aunt Cost's father, grandfather or even a mint. It appears that both Van Arsdell and Rudd are correct - Catus Cnavo is a single name, but blundered so often we don't know what the real version is. Chris Rudd now appears to believe that Aunt Cost coins, many of which are blundered, were issued by Esuprasu in the style of coins of the Catuvellauni for unknown reasons (see the sale of Aota Cosn), noting that Dr John Sills (expert on Catuvellaunian coinage) and Corieltavian specialist Geoff Cottam doubt Aota Cosn is Corieltavian, despite its Corieltavian findspot and similarity to Aunt Cost issues.

Chris Rudd (in ABC) went on to suggest the name 'Catuscunavos' would mean the issuer's grandfather was Catus, who may have struck the ‘Cat’ issues ABC 1845 and ABC 1848 (if those are read as ‘Cat’ and not ‘Tac’). This seems a leap of the imagination, not only because the name might be ‘Cut’ or something else. The two ‘Cat’ coins are extremley rare if not unique and it is not at all clear what the inscriptions are meant to be, if they are inscriptions. Indeed, the unit has very untidy ‘letters’ that are both retrograde (if you want to read them as letters) and aligned vertically and sideways. The Cat half unit simply features what may or may not be the letter A, and appears only to be associated with the unit because this A is in a distinctive style on both coins. Rudd says that ‘Cat’ might be the first in the region to add his name to coins but it seems more likely these are just blundered, as sometimes happens with Corieltauvi inscriptions - see Retro Vep (ABC 1863 and ABC 1899) and Blundered Legend - or not inscriptions at all.