All about Celtic coins

Tribal focus
Why I love Celtic coins

The story of Celtic coinage

A Mediterranean idea

Coins were a Mediterranean idea conceived in Lydia c.6th century BC. They remained in the Mediterranean until Northern Gaul, Iberia and Britain wanted to trade with the Greeks and Romans. Gaul’s first gold coins were copied from Philip II of Macedon’s gold staters.

Britain's first coins

Britain’s first regular home-made coins were bronze coins copying those of Massalia (Marseilles). Made in Cantion (Kent) c.120-100 BC, they circulated alongside gold coins imported from Gaul. During the Gallic Wars, 58-51 BC, many other Gaulish coins – gold, silver, bronze – came to Britain, some brought by refugees, others by mercenaries and merchants.

Photo of both sides of coin
Gallo-Belgic Broad Flan gold stater of Bellovaci, c.175-120 BC, ABC 4. Many imported into Britain. A modern fake of ABC 1 was recently sold for over £10,000. Caveat emptor.

North of the River Thames

The main rivals of the Regini and Atrebates were the Catuvellauni of Hertfordshire. Their first known ruler was Cassivellaunos who fought Caesar in 54 BC. Many of Britain’s earliest gold coins were probably struck to fund resistance to Caesar and then to pay tribute to him. Addedomaros was the first ruler north of the Thames to inscribe his coins, perhaps copying Commios.

South of the River Thames

Britain’s most famous refugee was Commios, a former ally of Caesar. He ruled the Regini and Atrebates in southern Britain c.50-25 BC and was the first British king to place his name on coins. His three sons – Tincomarus, Eppillus, Verica – made the Commian dynasty the most powerful south of the Thames. Most of their coins adopted Roman imagery.

Coin obverse image in black & white
Commios Ladder Head silver unit of the Regini, c.50-25 BC, ABC 1034. Nose of phallic face seems to be in the mouth of larger lunar head. Found near Chichester, W Sussex, 8 April 1995. Chris Rudd List 17, 1995, £400.

King of the Britons

The Catuvellauni expanded under Tasciovanos. His son Cunobelinus was the most potent tribal king in Atlantic Europe. Suetonius called him ‘king of the Britons’. When Epaticcus and Caratacus attacked the Atrebates, king Verica fled to Claudius who invaded Britain in AD 43. The minting of tribal coins ceased shortly afterwards. For more info ask liz@celticcoins.com or read Britain’s First Coins.

Photo of both sides of coin
Cunobelinus Classic Left gold stater of Camulodunon (Colchester, Essex), possibly posthumous, c.AD 42-43, ABC 2804. Flower on crescent above horse may be Yellow Flag which probably grew along banks of the river Colne 2000 years ago. See Chris Rudd List 127, p.2-3.

Tribal Focus

The tribal vibe of Celtic coins is something special with each tribe having its own distinctive coinage, so unlike the blanket blandness and universal uniformity of national coins today. Some coins carried tribal symbols. For the approximate location of the sixty tribes of Britain and Ireland, including those that minted coins, plus possible mint sites, see my map Tribes of the British Isles.

13 possible tribal groups were producing coins by c.50-40 BC (Cantiaci much earlier). Tribal names, recorded in the Roman era, may not be accurate. Tribal boundaries, as shown here, are speculative.

Some example of tribal symbols

Cantiaci fishing net (ABC 177)

Cantiaci fishing net (ABC 177)

Three-tailed horse of the Regini & Atrebates (ABC 488)

Three-tailed horse of the Regini & Atrebates (ABC 488)

Verica’s vine leaf (ABC 1193)

Verica’s vine leaf (ABC 1193)

Iceni wolf (ABC 1393)

Iceni wolf (ABC 1393)

Iceni moons (ABC 1450)

Iceni moons (ABC 1450)

Corieltavi boar (ABC 1782)

Corieltavi boar (ABC 1782)

Durotriges disjointed horse (ABC 2157)

Durotriges disjointed horse (ABC 2157)

Catuvellauni moons and hidden faces (ABC 2715)

Catuvellauni moons and hidden faces (ABC 2715)

Cunobelin’s corn ear (ABC 2774)

Cunobelin’s corn ear (ABC 2774)

Of the sixty known tribes of the British Isles only ten or so (those lettered in red) issued coins. Possible mint sites include:
  1. Old Sleaford, Lincs.
  2. Ratae (Leicester).
  3. Saham Toney, Norfolk.
  4. Thetford, Norfolk.
  5. Needham, Norfolk.
  6. Camulodunon (Colchester), Essex.
  7. Braughing/Puckeridge, Herts.
  8. Verlamion (St Albans), Herts.
  9. Durobrivae (Rochester), Kent.
  10. Durovernon (Canterbury), Kent.
  11. Sego/Duno (unlocated), Kent.
  12. Bagendon, Glos.
  13. Calleva (Silchester), Hants.
  14. Venta (Winchester), Hants.
  15. near Chichester, West Sussex.
  16. Hengistbury Head, Dorset.
Caesar mentions four other tribes not shown here, all probably in south-east England: Ancalites, Bobroci, Cassi and Segontiaci.

Download this map as a PDF

Why Liz loves Celtic coins

What’s so special about Celtic coins? What’s making them increasingly popular with collectors all over the world? We all have our own reasons for liking Celtic coins. Here are mine, says Elizabeth Cottam.

Celticity

They were produced by peoples who all spoke Celtic, the old mother tongue of so many countries in Europe. Did you know that the earliest recorded Celtic language comes from Spain?

Primal antiquity

Mostly over 2,000 years old, they were the first coins made in England, the first in France, the first in Belgium, the first in Germany, the first in Switzerland, long before these nations had a national identity.

Illustration of coin
This Gallic bronze type, ABC 115 – made for trade, branded MA for Massalia – inspired a Cantian king to mint the first coins made in Britain. Found near Chichester, W.Sussex, 7.10.1998. Others found in Kent.

Vast Variety

I love the vast variety of Celtic coin types. Before I joined Chris Rudd in 1998 I’d no idea there were so many. Britain alone minted 1,000 different types, as you’ll see when you look at Ancient British Coins (Chris Rudd 2010) which I co-authored.

Illustration of coin
The standard reference for ancient British coins. “A great book” says Prof. Sir Barry Cunliffe.

Regality

Rulers regaled with royal coronets, diadems and golden neck torcs symbolic of their sacral kingship; the very sound of their cocky monikers – Dubnovellaunos ‘ruler of the world’, Addedomaros ‘great in chariots’ – is cheering to my ears. You’ve heard of King Arthur, King Alfred and William the Conqueror. But how many pre-Roman rulers can you name? Two? Five? Ten?

Coin obverse image
I think that Ancient British gold coins, maybe silver too, were probably ‘king’s money’ minted mainly for the ruler’s personal benefit, whether to pay troops or tribute, buy royal goods or services, curry favour with peers or proles, or bribe the gods. This gold stater, ABC 2774, was struck at Camulodunon (Colchester, Essex) for King Cunobelinus ‘hound of Belenus’, the most potent tribal king of his time – the most powerful in Atlantic Europe – who personally controlled more land, more lives and more wealth by AD 41 than any other tribal leader west of the Rhine. Chris Rudd List 54, 2000, No.75, £2000.

Roman love affair

I love the Roman love affair that other Celtic rulers had, importing fine Italian wine and silver tableware and copying Roman coins.

Illustration of 3 roman coins
These three bronze units of Cunobelinus show a Roman-style helmet (ABC 2960), the Roman god Janus (ABC 2981) and a Roman-style laureate head (ABC 2957). The third coin was found near Ware, Herts., 1973.

Freedom fighters

You have to admire freedom fighters on Celtic coins, those brave warrior-kings and warrior-princes who opposed the power of Rome, like Vercingetorix and Caratacus.

Hidden humour

The hidden humour of Celtic coins – all those smiley faces and those ‘now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t images’ as Van Arsdell calls them - always make us smile.

Imaginative imagery

This was Britain’s golden age of daring coin design, as we say in Britain’s First Coins (Chris Rudd 2013). To get a sense of how innovative Britain’s tribal coins were – each region developed its own local style. Take a look at 'Tribal Focus' to see some examples.

Showing the cover of 'Britain's First Coins
“Superbly produced, the perfect introduction” says David Sear.

Miniature masterpieces

Celtic coins are miniature masterpieces, especially silver minims. How did the ancient Brits manage to get so much detail onto an 8mm coin (smaller than your smallest fingernail)? How did they standardise the weight at ¼ gram?

Hoary hoards

Celtic coin hoards keep hitting the headlines. No banks in those days, no ‘hole in the wall’ ATMs. So I guess folk had no choice but to dig a hole in the ground.

Celtic coins in a pot & a map
Hoard of 872 Iceni silver coins found by farmer Sam Hills at March, Cambs., 1982 (photo © The British Museum). Map: where the largest of 345 iron age coin hoards have been found in Britain since the 1980s – mostly by metdets – with estimated totals.

Mythic mystery

You can catch glimpses of long-lost legends and ancient pagan rituals such as head hunting and bull sacrificing in Celtic coinage, and feel the power of Druid priests who probably influenced the design of many Celtic coins.

Celtic coins in a pot & a map
These three coins show a bull sacrifice (ABC 2972), a head on a standard (ABC 1235) and a severed head being carried (ABC 2987).

Astonishing astrology

I love the astonishing astrology of Celtic coins – the galaxies of suns and moons and stars that shine and twinkle on hundreds of Ancient British coins. Once again I sense the shadowy presence of Druids.

Unpredictability

New types keep leaping out of the soil, attributions, names and dates are always being revised and Celtic studies are in a constant state of flux. I love the unpredictabilty of Celtic coins.

Uniqueness

I love the uniqueness of many Celtic coins, the exciting exclusivity of holding the only known example of an Ancient British coin in my hand. Such remarkable rarities never cease to thrill me.

As soon as the metdet phoned me and described this coin, I knew it was unique, I knew it was important. Found near Cirencester, Glos., 12 March 2006, this silver unit (ABC 2063) is inscribed INAMN, a name only known from the bronze core of a gold plated stater found at Hod Hill, Dorset, in 1862. It validates Sir John Evans’ belief that Inamn was a Dobunnic ruler, not a ‘blundered legend’. Inamn is an abbreviation of a longer name, such as Inamnuetoutos, the father of Mandubracios (‘pony breeches’), a Trinovantian prince of the mid 1st century BC who had a similar name. I auctioned the coin for £4,200, then a record price for an Ancient British silver unit.
Coin obverse image

Handsome heads

The heads you see on Celtic coins are stronger, stranger, wilder, weirder, more fantastic, more surrealistic than any other coins.

Handsome heads
Horned god or Druid priest? Die reconstruction of Petersfield Cernunnos silver unit, ABC 686, with holed Selsey Cernunnos silver unit, ABC 680, both struck by the Regini of W.Sussex, c.55-40 BC.

Uncommon scarcity

Ask any metal detectorist how many Ancient British coins he or she has found and you’ll immediately realise that they are much rarer than Roman coins – at least a thousand times rarer on average.

Historical importance

I love the historical importance of Celtic coins and the fact that they are helping to rewrite the history of Britain in the late Iron Age. Many of its rulers are known solely from their coins.

Amazing menagerie

I love the amazing menagerie of creatures on Celtic coins, from bulls and boars to stags and starfish.

Norfolk Wolf gold stater of the Iceni, my local tribe, c.50-40 BC, ABC 1396, found by metdet Scott Larcombe, near Lowestoft, Suffolk, 2011. This is my favourite Celtic coin. Look at those large sharp teeth, those spiky bristles and those ‘man bits’ under the wolf’s shaggy tail. Can you see the bird perched on his rump? See Rainer Kretz, On the track of the Norfolk Wolf, Chris Rudd List 48, and Dr Daphne Nash Briggs, Some cosmic wolves, in Chris Rudd List 110, p.2-4.
Amazing menagerie

Foxy old forgeries

The ancient Celtic counterfeiters produced some wonderful foxy old forgeries. With matchless metallurgy and unrivalled guile they managed to make plated gold staters look and feel like solid gold staters.

Ancient Celtic forgeries
2,000 years ago this bronze coin was concealed in a convincing coat of gold plating and would doubtless have deceived anyone who handled it because it would have looked and felt just like a genuine gold stater issued by the royal mint. Inamn Tree bronze stater core, c.AD 1-20?, ABC 2060, found at Hod Hill, Dorset, 1862, and now in the British Museum where it won’t fool anyone. Photo © Institute of Archaeology, Oxford.

Galloping good value

The greater rarity of these horsey coins doesn’t mean that Celtic coins are costlier than other ancient coins. In fact, they are often cheaper. For example, a very fine British gold stater typically costs less than half the price – sometimes even a third of the price – of a Roman aureus or English gold noble of comparable quality and rarity. Celtic coins are, in my opinion, undervalued coins.