Archive – Celts
Buckingham gold hoard
Around midday on Saturday 16 December 2006 two metal detectorists strolled onto a field near Buckingham and within a few minutes picked up a valuable gold coin that was lying on the surface. By the end of the weekend ... [ more ]
50 Years of Celtic Coin Index
Setting up an index of Celtic coins found in Britain was first thought of in 1959 by the archaeologist Professor Sheppard Frere and the numismatist Derek Allen. The growth of the CCI testifies to a commensurate increase in co-operation between professional archaeologists and amateur metal detectorists... [ more ]
Jersey – the Treasure Island of Celtic Coins
Jersey Post has just issued stamps featuring six iron age coins from a hoard found at Le Catillon, Jersey, in 1957. Celtic coin expert Chris Rudd reveals how it comes that Jersey may truly be called Treasure Island of iron age coins... [ more ]
Unique gold coin of Bodvoc found
On 16 April 2012 a 2000-year-old gold quarter stater of the ancient British ruler Bodvoc was discovered near Bristol. It was found by Dennis who has been metal detecting for 33 of his 53 years and it can rightly be described as ‘the find of a lifetime’ because of its numismatic importance. [ more ]
Introduction 'The People of Zurich and their Money' Part 1
Our series ‘The People of Zurich and their Money’ will present one exciting chapter of Swiss numismatics and economic history at a time. The introduction provides an initial overview in two parts. Follow along in this first section as we trace the evolution of Swiss numismatics from the beginning all the way through to the 16th century. [ more ]
The People of Zurich and their Money 1: The Celts’ First Contact with Greek Money
Our series ‘The People of Zurich and their Money’ takes you along for the ride as we explore the Zurich of times past. In this first chapter, we’ll be eavesdropping on a conversation from the 3rd century BC between a Celtic farmer and his wife. Much like a good DVD, this conversation comes with a sort of ‘making of’ – a little numismatic-historical backdrop to help underscore and illustrate this conversation. [ more ]
Was king of east Kent son of badger killer?
On 20 December 2012 an exceedingly rare gold coin of the Cantiaci tribe was found south of Canterbury in Kent. The coin is a gold quarter stater attributed to Sego, an elusive king who probably ruled in east Kent shortly after the birth of Christ. [ more ]
Celtic hammer-god found in Kent
Last year an exceedingly rare gold quarter stater, minted over 2,000 years ago in the Somme valley, northern France, was found near Ringwould, Kent, by a metal detectorist. Struck c.250-225 BC in the land of ... [ more ]
Killer’s gold to be sold
A rare gold stater of Tasciovanos, believed to be one of the finest known, will be auctioned in early May by Celtic dealer Chris Rudd...
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52,000 coins found in Somerset in England
British detectorist found and reported one the biggest hoards found in Britain ever. Buried in a big jug approximately 30 cm underground were 52,000 antoniniani from the 3rd century A. D. ... [ more ]
Rare Gold "Diss" Torc fetches £50,700 at Auction
Spink / London sold a fine and rare gold Torc, from the Iron Age of Great Britain, for £50,700 at their auction in London...
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A new Celtic coin book
“It is very easy to use, not just for people with Dr. in front of their name, but for everyone, from schoolkids to scholars.” [ more ]
Unique Celtic gold coin to be sold in May
Before this coin had been found, nobody knew about the British king Anarevitos... [ more ]
Celtic gold strong
A previously unrecorded gold stater of a hitherto unknown British king, Anarevitos, was recently auctioned by Chris Rudd for GBP 21,000. This is a record price for an Iron Age coin of Britain... [ more ]
The eye of God
A rare silver coin of the Iceni, struck in Norfolk over 2000 years ago, was recently found by a metal detectorist in East Anglia. It shows a man’s head with one eye blinded (or closed) and with another eye – a third eye, an open eye – in his mouth. Who is he? What is he doing? [ more ]
Moon-crowns of the Iceni
At Chris Rudd’s a rare silver coin of the Iceni tribe was auctioned for GBP 5,200 – the highest price ever paid for an ancient British silver coin! The motif on this coin, a moon-crown, is quite intriguing. Read here Chris Rudd’s explanation... [ more ]
New attribution of celtic coins: Caratacus instead of Cunobelinus
For 120 years a coin type has been wrongly attributed to King Cunobelinus because of a misreading of its inscription. A metal detectorist found another specimen, which permits now to attribute this coin to Cunobelinus’ son the famous freedom-fighter Caratacus... [ more ]
Wickham Market Gold Hoard to be Cleaned-up by Volunteers
At the moment, a gold hoard composed of 840 Iceni coins found in 2008 in a Suffolk field is cleaned by 50 volunteers. This is another example of British style cooperation... [ more ]
Artistic coins from Celtic culture
Those who love the drawings of Picasso should consider buying Celtic coins. They are nearly as modern as the great Spanish painter... [ more ]
Four rarities found
Four ancient British coins of the highest rarity have recently been unearthed by metal detectorists, confirming yet again the considerable contribution made by metal detecting to iron age numismatics. [ more ]
Largest treasure of Celtic coins ever found on Jersey
After thirty years of continuing search two amateur metal detectorists found a hoard of Celtic coins in the east of Jersey. The sensational finding weighs ca. three quarter of a tonne and thus comprises probably some 50,000 coins – the largest hoard of Celtic coins ever. [ more ]
Numismatic Northern Spain – Part 3
Can you hazard a guess as to which European country is the most mountainous after Switzerland? Austria? Not a chance! It’s Spain. And besides being incredibly mountainous, Spain can also boast the best-preserved Roman city wall anywhere in the world. Join us on the third leg of our incredible trip as we make our way to the Picos de Europa and then to Lugo. [ more ]
Numismatic Northern Spain – Part 1
Romans and Celts aren’t exactly what come to mind when you think of Northern Spain. I had basically expected this trip to be just a one-time foray into medieval times, with perhaps a few ancient bits thrown in for good measure. But I was completely off the mark – Northern Spain has so much more to offer. [ more ]
Numismatic Northern Spain (2012)
In April 2012 Ursula Kampmann travelled through Northern Spain. During the summer she published her numismatic diary of this travel. Here you can read all single parts. [ more ]
Holy Grail from Lake Chiemsee
A cup made of pure gold and inspired by Celtic art has troubled the press for quite some time. A Swiss entrepreneur tried to gain one billion Euro from the ‘Holy Grail’ – and failed miserably. Now he has been condemned by a court. [ more ]
Cunobelin counterfeits
Chris Rudd’s Elizabeth Cottam, expert on Celtic coins, explains how to recognise counterfeits of coins of the Celtic king Cunobelin since the number of those apparently has significantly increased recently. [ more ]
Four rarities of a forgotten tribe
Celtic coin expert Chris Rudd will sell in auction four coins attributed to the obscure Belgae tribe, a tribe that has primarily become known again through numismatic testimonies thanks in particular to metal detectorists. [ more ]