June 30, 2011 – 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.
“I’m not surprised”, says Elizabeth Cottam of Chris Rudd. “The market for Celtic coins continues to look strong, especially for gold rarities.”
Anarevitos gold stater.
This superb gold stater is the first recorded coin of Anarevitos, who may have been a ruler of the Cantiaci around the time of the birth of Christ and whose name was previously unknown to us. The little star above the horse’s head may indicate that he was a prince of the royal house of Commios – perhaps a son of Eppillus whose abbreviated name appears on the obverse.
This highly important gold stater was discovered near Dover on 4 September 2010 by the late Danny Baldock, a member of the Royal Phoenix Metal Detecting Club. This remarkable and impressively important gold stater was discovered too late for inclusion in our book Ancient British Coins; however you’ll find a brief reference to it in our note for ABC 390. The Anarevitos stater is in superb condition, with a large flan of golden gold and a clear inscription.
We announced this auction here.
For further information on this and other celtic coins visit Chris Rudd’s website.