Cunobelin was a king in the south-east of pre-Roman Britain, ruling the Catuvellauni tribe of Hertfordshire and the Trinovantes of Essex.
Iron Age coins from his reign fall into two categories, one featuring Romanised elements and the other with more specifically British imagery. These four gold coins fall into the latter category, with an ear of corn on the obverse and a horse on the reverse. Cunobelin’s abbreviated name appears along with the horse, while straddling the corn are the letters CAMV, denoting Camulodunum, the Roman name for Colchester.
The coins were discovered in Redbourn, Hertfordshire, and may have been produced at the mint in Verulamium, possibly for use in Cunobelin’s Trinovantian territories.
They now join Verulamium Museum’s collection of Iron Age coins, which includes around 100 examples from the tribal area of the Catuvellauni.
More information
Title of artwork, date
Coins of King Cunobelin, 8
Date supported
2021
Medium and material
Hammer struck gold
Dimensions
2 x 2 x 0.3 cm
Grant
1100
Total cost
2700
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