Celtic gold coins from the Iron Age have been declared a treasure

The set of 19 Iron Age gold coins was discovered last February near Blythburgh in Suffolk. They were found by a detectorist over an area of about 10 by 19 metres. Experts say it is a "truly unusual" find in the East Anglian region. The coins have now been declared treasure and museums are racing to see which one will get them for their collection.

The coins have been assessed and, as expected, declared treasure by coroner Nigel Parsley, who said some of the strikes share features with coins in areas north of the Thames. PAS liaison officer archaeologist Dr Anna Booth sees this as evidence that there was strong "cross-cultural interaction" between these areas. She said many of the gold staters in the assemblage were minted during the reign of the tribal leader Addedomara, king of the Trinovantes. These coins were more common in Hertfordshire, Essex, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Cambridgeshire, whereas they are extremely rare in Suffolk.

King Addedomarus ruled the Trinovantes in the late 1st century BC. His area of influence was in the wider south-east of Britain. He was the first Celtic king to mint coins with inscriptions in the area - and this was around 35 BC, The coins of this ruler are relatively rare, and one of the coins in the set was unknown to experts until now - it had never been found before.

Other coins with a "flower-type" design were classified by experts as "rarely seen", and two coins from the hoard had unusually reversed S symbols on the reverse. The coins, many of which date from 45-25 BC, were probably deposited after AD 20.

It is not yet certain which museum will eventually acquire the coins. However, according to the coroner and Dr. Booth, there is much interest in them as expected. A sum (as yet undisclosed) set by the Coroner will be divided between the finders and the landowner under the Treasure Act 1996.

Roman Nemec

Sources: archaeology.org, bbc.com