Britain’s oldest hoard of gold coins was discovered by a metal detector and dates back 2,173 years. Stephen Eldridge was looking at the farms of Buckinghamshire when he discovered the twelve Iron Age artefacts. According to experts at the British Museum, they were created around 150 BC by a tribe from what is now Picardy in France.
It is believed that the coins would have been exported to Britain, probably in exchange for Celtic mercenaries going to Gaul in Western Europe to fight the Romans. While ancient gold coins from this period have already been found, a treasure from this date is incredibly valuable.
A metal detector has uncovered Britain’s oldest hoard of gold coins dating back 2,173 years. Stephen Eldridge found the 12 Iron Age pieces while searching farmland in Buckinghamshire. The coins are now expected to sell for £30,000 when they come up for auction at London auction house Spink & Son. .
Eldridge, 68, found the coins in the village of Ashley Green, Buckinghamshire, in November 2019. In 150 BC. C., the area was inhabited by the Catuvellauni tribe, which became the most powerful tribe in Britain during the following century. Through the hoard process, Mr Eldridge has put the coins up for auction with London-based coin specialists Spink. Scientific X-ray fluorescence analysis confirmed that the coins were approximately 75 percent gold with a silver-copper alloy, indicating the economy in which Britain’s first gold coins circulated.
Gregory Edmund, of Spink & Son, said: “While incredible gold coins from this period have been recorded across the south-east of England, it is incredibly likely that a hoard of this size or date will be discovered.” ‘Contemporary local coins were simply cast base metals called ‘potins’. Whoever successfully imported this hoard of gold coins would have exerted their power in the region.
Experts at the British Museum identified them as originating from a tribe in what is now Picardy in France and manufactured in 150 BC. They would have been exported, probably in exchange for mercenaries, equipment and hunting dogs to adapt to the Romans or other tribes. in Belgium.
«Twenty or thirty years after its deposit, we began to produce the first British coins of the same style. ‘These coins were in the richest part of the English kingdom. ‘A treasure of this size and period is unprecedented in the archaeological record. Another hoard from this period of three coins was found. “These coins have been well used, it is very clear that they are not fresh when placed in the ground, but they still retain remarkable details of a rarely seen Iron Age art form.
After going through the hoard process, Eldridge has put the coins up for auction with London-based coin specialists. Spink Scientific’s X-ray fluorescence analysis confirmed that the coins were approximately 75 percent gold with a silver-copper alloy, pointing to the economy in which Britain’s first gold coins circulated.
“It is often speculated that the portrait on this coin was deliberately androgynous despite being inspired by the classical male god Apollo. The feminine style is probably a reflection of the political importance of women in Iron Age society, which allowed historical figures such as Cartimandua and Boudicca to rise to prominence and become our now national folklore.
“It is incredibly satisfying to assist in the proper recording, academic analysis and now sale of these prestigious prehistoric relics.” The British Museum decided to reject the coins after the forensic investigation, meaning they pass back to whoever found them.
