Gold stater of the Catuvellauni

The detectorist who unearthed this find said he would he prefer to remain anonymous. His find is a really attractive Ancient British gold stater.

On the obverse is a crossed wreath design with back-to-back crescents in the centre and various symbols in the angles. The reverse has a horse facing right, with a wing and large pellets above and a wheel below. Partly visible in front of the horse is a swirling sun.

In the Standard Catalogue staters of this type are listed under early uninscribed issues as number 32, of which a number of varieties are known.  In Ancient British Coins it is listed under the Catuvellauni as the Middle Whaddon Chase Big Wheel type (number 2442). However, ABC was published in 2010 and this stater now falls into the category of the Eastern, North Thames reign.

Valuation

The obverse is well struck and in close to EF condition. The reverse isn’t quite as good as the highest points on the horse are a little flat. This is a really delightful coin and would be of great interest to collectors of Ancient British coin. If it came up for sale at auction then in its present state of preservation the pre-sale estimate shouldn’t be any lower than £1,200 – £1,500. With competition between prospective buyers I would not be surprised if the hammer price was higher than the upper estimate.