A unique ancient find – a gold coin about 2,000 years old – has been sold at auction for £3,300. The coin was discovered by a treasure hunter using a metal detector in a field in East Yorkshire.
The coin dates to around 50-10 BC and is considered an extremely rare variant of the gold coin of the Coriltavian tribe, a Celtic people who occupied Lincolnshire and surrounding areas during the Iron Age. It should be noted that the minting of such coins was carried out in the Sleaford area, writes Lincolnshire World.
A spokeswoman for auction house Corelli Thomson said the work was “exceptionally rare” and could be only the second example of its kind to be found.
The coin itself is very small – about the size of half an old penny – and weighs about 5.5 grams. According to experts, this alloy contains about 33% gold, 54% copper and about 9.5% silver.
The special feature of this discovery is an image with five dots and a horse image below. It is this unusual detail that makes the coin rare: usually on such specimens there is another version of the symbol.
It was also noted that coins were found on Iron Age territory belonging to the Paris tribe who lived in East Yorkshire – that is, outside the main Coriltavian area. This highlights that such items could have moved between tribes, possibly through trade or barter.
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