Celtic gold coins found here by tribeCelticcoins were produced in two ways, conventionally described as struckand cast. Both methods required a considerable degree of technicalknowledge to ensure successful results.The processof striking a coin began with the production of a blank. This wasprobably formed in a clay mould, but it is still uncertain how themetal alloy was placed in the mould. It probably wasn't poured in,which would make precise weight control difficult, but perhaps putinto the mould in powder or nugget form, or possibly as sections fromcarefully measured ingots.Celticdies were made of iron and/or bronze. They are extremely rare, sincethey were clearly carefully looked after while they were in use, andthus very rarely lost, and they were often used to destruction. Thequality of engraving on many dies is superb, and it is difficult toimagine how some tiny details were engraved on dies just a few millimetresin diameter.The engravingability of the moneyers was matched by their control of the weightand alloy of the coinage.
They were capable of producing thousandsof coins deviating just a few milligrams each side of the intendedweight, and they could make subtle alterations to the quality of thealloy, masking a decrease in the precious metal content.Mostgold and silver Celtic coins also occur as plated forgeries. Theywere produced by coating a base metal core with gold or silver alloybefore striking took place, either by dipping the core in molten alloy,or by hammering a thin layer of gold or silver around the core untilit bonded with the base metal. Dies used for genuine coins were sometimesalso used for plated examples; alternatively, dies could be fakedby making a cast from a mould bearing the impression of a genuinecoin, or by pressing a genuine coin into soft metal which was thenhardened to form a die; sometimes the design of a coin was simplycopied onto a new die, resulting in the reversal of the correct image.The productionof cast coins required very different techniques. The cast coins fromsouth-east Britain were produced by pouring molten alloy into a setof moulds joined by runners, which were broken apart when the metalhad cooled. The breaks were not always neat and often parts of thesprue - the joining portion between the coins - remain attached tothe coin itself.The earliestexamples of these coins in Britain have relatively fine images, whichwere presumably made by pressing a coin into the mould. As this processwas successively repeated, the quality of the image being reproducedbecame ever worse, eventually becoming a featureless blobAll coins on this page have been found by us and have been recorded by the Celtic Coin Index.
They are available to view on the national DatabaseThe index contains 37925 Iron Age coins of which 23623 are provenanced and they have 37751 examples with images attachedComments against our coins are from Dr Philip de Jersey and John SillsCeltic coins starting coming into Britain around 150 B.C. And continued to be imported until after the Gallic War in 50 B.C. These imports were mainly gold staters and quarter staters minted Gallia Belgica (northern France) and copied from copies of gold staters of Philip II of Macedon. Some of the Gallo-Belgic coins came with immigrant settlers and others may have come with British mercenaries returning home after fighting the Romans in Gaul; but most of the imported coins were probably the result of cross-Channel trade, which included slave trading. The Greek geographer Strabo (ca.
60 BC to A.D. 20), whose name means “squint-eyed”, lists as the principal exports of Britain “grain, cattle, gold, silver and iron also hides and slaves and dogs that are by nature suited to the purposes of the chase.”The Trinovantes or Trinobantes were one of the Celtic tribes of pre-Roman Britain. Their territory was on the north side of the Thames estuary in current Essex and Suffolk, and included lands now located in Greater London. They were bordered to the north by the, and to the west by the Catuvellauni. Their name derives from the Celtic intensive prefix 'tri-' and 'novio' - new, so meaning 'very new' in the sense of 'newcomers', but possibly with an applied sense of vigorous or lively - so the name could mean 'the very vigorous people'. Their capital was Camulodunum (modern Colchester), one proposed site of the legendary Camelot.Shortly before Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain in 55 and 54 BC, the Trinovantes were considered the most powerful tribe in Britain. At this time their capital was probably at Braughing (in modern-day Hertfordshire).
In some manuscripts of Caesar's Gallic War their king is referred to as Imanuentius, although in other manuscripts no name is given. Some time before Caesar's second expedition this king was overthrown by Cassivellaunus, who is usually assumed to have belonged to the Catuvellauni. His son, Mandubracius, fled to the protection of Caesar in Gaul. During his second expedition Caesar defeated Cassivellaunus and restored Mandubracius to the kingship, and Cassivellaunus undertook not to molest him again. Tribute was also agreed.The next identifiable king of the Trinovantes, known from numismatic evidence, was Addedomarus, who took power c. 20-15 BC, and moved the tribe's capital to Camulodunum.
For a brief period c. 10 BC Tasciovanus of the Catuvellauni issued coins from Camulodunum, suggesting that he conquered the Trinovantes, but he was soon forced to withdraw, perhaps as a result of pressure from the Romans, as his later coins no longer bear the mark ' Rex', and Addedomarus was restored.
Addedomarus was briefly succeeded by his son Dubnovellaunus c. 10–5 BC, but a few years later the tribe was finally conquered by either Tasciovanus or his son Cunobelinus. Mandubracius, Addedomarus and Dubnovellaunus all appear in later, post-Roman and medieval British Celtic genealogies and legends as Manawydan, Aedd Mawr (Addedo the Great) and Dyfnwal Moelmut (Dubnovellaunus the Bald and Silent).
The Welsh Triads recall Aedd Mawr as one of the founders of Britain.The Trinovantes reappeared in history when they participated in Boudic's revolt against the Roman Empire in 60 AD. Their name was given to one of the civitates of Roman Britain, whose chief town was Caesaromagus (modern Chelmsford, Essex). The style of their rich burials (see facies of Aylesford) is of continental origin and evidence of their affiliation to the Belgic people. 5.62g 17mmCCI05.02915.63g,17mmCCI05.02935.57g 16mmCCI05.029219mm, 5.45g CCI05.028517mm5.42g45- 30 BC 18mm 5.62 g CCI05.02865.30g 16mmCCI 05.0267Left example 5.64g, 16mmCCI 05.0212Right example 5.54g, 17mm CCI 05.02135.56g 17mmCCI 05.02115.50g 17mmThanksto Philip at the CCI for this update 'a very nice example of the Addedomarosspiral stater, VA 1620. Lots of them about now (150 plus) but thisis a very decent example - though as usual without a trace of thereverse inscription, all off the edge of the flan.
VA's dating isa bit unrealistic, I would suggest anywhere between 45 and 30 BC,but certainly a little later than the Gallo-Belgic stater you recordedbefore. This one will be CCI 05.0196.CCI No 04.0678'thisis a very good example, both sides nice and sharp. I'm doing somedetailed work on the dies of this type at the moment, there are quitea lot - something like 25-30 obverse dies and maybe 50 for the reverse- so it must have been quite a sizeable coinage, probably producedover a number of years. North Thames type Celtic gold stater 5.54g- 16.93'manythanks for this one, a rare one indeed. It's an example of VA 1509,also in the BM catalogue (BMC 350) and no. 34 in 'Coins of England'.It usually has a couple of S shapes on the obverse, although I can'tsee any traces of them here - the obverse is sometimes worn though.It seems to be a North Thames type, to judge from the few provenancesavailable, but there are only six examples previously recorded soit is a rare type. I would guess quite early too, perhaps 40s BC.Certainly one of the best Celtic you've had so far, thanks!
Chip Part-number Unknown
It'llbe CCI 06.0195'. 1/4 Uninscribed Celticgold stater 1.43g, 12.98mm'Yes,this is interesting. It's an uninscribed quarter stater, traditionallyattributed to the Atrebates (in the South Thames) but almost certainlya North Thames issue.
We have records of about 25 of them, and withoutexception they've come from the North Thames area: it was previouslyattributed to the Atrebates because of the style, which resemblestheir uninscribed quarter staters with a wreath on the obverse. Thedate of this quarter would be around c.
45 BC, I would estimate, solike the Whaddon Chase it could be just a little earlier than theAddedomaros coins. It is catalogued in Van Arsdell as VA 260-1, butnot only wrongly as Atrebates but also listed as silver. Many of thesurviving examples are struck from the same pair of dies, which developsome fairly major flaws, especially on the reverse; the lack of manydies suggests this wasn't a very big issue, in comparison to the Addedomarosspiral for example.IfI remember rightly there are one or two examples of this type in thehuge East Leicestershire hoards which came up about 3 years ago, butmostly they're Essex/Suffolk area. This'll be CCI 05.0683'.Not a 70 BC Celtic Morini boat tree qtr gold stater as I first thought - rare North Thames type1.48g, 10.58mmThis coin is an important find because although it's a type based on Gallo-Belgic D Boat Tree quarters it's an early British copy, ABC 2454, from the same dies as the one illustrated in the book.
Although ABC says it's excessively rare there are actually around 20 known, but there are very few reliable findspots and this one helps to confirm it's a North Thames type. I've recorded it as 13.0002 (got some new numbers through at last).All the bestJohnVery interesting Celtic gold qtr gold stater - sent to CCI for ID and recordingReminds me of a 50BC North Thames type1.54g, 13.51mm dia70 BC Morini Celtic qtr stater - reported to PAS for recording1.41g, 9.9mm70BC Celtic gold qtr stater - sent to PAS for recording1.44g, 10.8mm'RemiThe Remi were a Belgic people of north-eastern Gaul (Gallia Belgica).
Storage 05e3 0751 Noname
The Romans regarded them as a civitas, a major and influential polity of Gaul,The Remi occupied the northern Champagne plain, on the southern fringes of the Forest of Ardennes, between the rivers Mosa (Meuse) and Matrona (Marne), and along the river valleys of the Aisne and its tributaries the Aire and the Vesle.Their capital was at Durocortum (Reims, France) the second largest oppidum of Gaul on the Vesle. Allied with the Germanic tribes of the east, they repeatedly engaged in warfare against the Parisii and the Senones.They were renowned for their horses and cavalry.Early 70BC uninscribed 'Q' Gold - 'Remi 'Type Celtic gold qtr stater1.35g, 12.24mmMaldon Wheel quarter, not in VA or BMC, ABC 2234.