This delightful Celtic gold stater was issued by the Catuvellauni Tribe around 80 – 50 BC. Its elaborate design, in keeping with the majority of early British gold coins, is derived from the gold staters struck by Philip II of Macedon over 200 years earlier.
They were a warring tribe, adding the lands of the nearby Trinovantes to their domain sometime around the turn of the millennium.
Depicted is a celticised horse, surrounded by pellets. The horse, (along with the boar and the wolf) was culturally significant in Iron Age society, and appears on a variety of Celtic coins. This rare issue is unlisted by most Iron Age coin indexes, and only appears in Ancient British Coins.
Catuvellauni. AV Stater 6.6gm., c.80-50 BC. Sinuous horse right, small pellet rosette and larger pellets above. Pellet below, triquetra in front. Rev: Wreath motif with cloak and crescents. (ABC 2424; VA – ). Good Very Fine. Extremely Rare. £2500
