Rare Celtic coin found by metal detectorist
An ancient Celtic coin discovered in a field in northeast England could fetch more than $5,000. A metal detectorist in Lelley, East Yorkshire, has discovered a gold coin dating from around 50-10 BCE (the Iron Age).
According to David Duggleby Auctioneers of Scarborough, the coin is a variation of a gold stater from the Corieltauvi tribe. These types of coins were made by the Corieltauvi Celtic tribe who owned much of the East Midlands, including all of present-day Lincolnshire, extending north to a bank of the River Humber.
The town of Leicester was the Roman capital of the Corieltauvi tribe and included a mint where these coins were minted. However, this particular gold coin was found further north, in an area that was once the territory of another tribe: the Parisi. This small group once occupied an area of ​​what is now East Yorkshire. Auctioneers believe this indicates evidence of trade between the Corieltauvi and the Parisi, as the tribes were “apparently quite civilized.” Discoveries like this can help understand how objects and ideas spread across tribal boundaries long before the Romans ruled the island.
The coin is the second known of its kind and is believed to be a stater, an ancient coin commonly found in Greece. It weighs less than an ounce and is composed of 33 percent gold, 54 percent copper and 9.5 percent silver. It has five dots and an illustration of a horse below the dots. This extra point, also called a dumpling or domino, is what makes the coin so rare and could even double its value at auction.
“It’s the fifth pellet on this piece that makes it so incredibly rare,” auctioneer Coralie Thomson told the BBC. “Corieltauvi staters always had four pellets – at least that’s what everyone thought until a five-domino variant was discovered in Northamptonshire last year.”
This exciting discovery will be part of the coin, banknote and stamp auction on Thursday 8 January. It is estimated in pre-sale between ÂŁ2,000 and ÂŁ4,000 (approximately $2,698 to $5,396). The auction house is expecting lively bidding as interest in this piece is already pouring in. This particular auction also includes a set of four Queen Elizabeth II gold Britannia coins from 1989, silver coins dating back to the Medieval and Tudor periods, as well as Celtic, Viking, Anglo-Saxon and Roman bronze coins.
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