Catuvellauni & Trinovantes Cunobelinus c. AD 8-40 Serpent Pegasus Silver Unit *Extremely Rare*

Catuvellauni & Trinovantes Cunobelinus c. AD 8-40 Serpent Pegasus Silver Unit

Bull or ram-headed serpent coiled (anti-clockwise) around central ringed pellet. Border of two plain interwoven strands.

Pegasus left, pellet mane, straps around chest and neck. Two small pellets in front and below mouth. Inscription (CVN) below. Pellet border.

Minted at Camulodunum, modern-day Colchester, United Kingdom

Extremely Rare

A clear & pleasing example struck in good silver.

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ABC 2834 (plate coin); 12mm, 0.86g

Philip de Jersey, “Cunobelin’s Silver”, Britannia, Vol. 32 (2001), pp. 1-44:
de Jersey Type A (Early Type). de Jersey lists four types, listed separately here, which are stylistically earlier.
A3: Coiled ram-headed serpent. Pegasus left; CVN below.

Styled as son of Tasciovanus on some of his coins, Cunobelin appears to have ruled over the unified territories of the Trinovantes and Catuvellauni, with additional territory in Kent. It has been estimated from a study of known dies that around one million of his gold corn ear staters were produced and his main centre and mint was at Camulodunon/Camulodunum (Colchester).

Provenance

This coin is from The London Collection of Ancient British Coins. For more information click here: The London Collection – Silbury Coins : Silbury Coins

C Rudd FPL 48, no 80. Found Great Barfield, Essex Feb 1999. CCI 99.1378.  ABC plate coin

This coin comes with a previous label.

 

Cunobelin (c. AD 10–40)

Shakespeare’s Cymbeline, based on his extensive bronze coinage Cunobelin appears to have been a son of Tasciovanos – where he is often styled ‘CVNOBELINI TASCIOVANI F’ (Cunobelin, Son of Tasciovanos). Writing in the early 1st century AD, the Roman historian Suetonius erroneously refers to Cunobelin as ‘Brittanorum Rex’ – King of the Britons. While this may exaggerate his power and influence somewhat, it is evident that he was viewed by the Romans as a key figure within the region. He was potentially sponsored or endorsed in some way by Rome’s first emperor, Augustus. Indeed, like Verica, many of his coins (especially those of silver and bronze) show high levels of classical influence.

As a ruler in his own right, Cunobelin’s first act seems to have been to finish the task begun by his father, definitively exerting control over both Camulodunon and the Trinovantian territory surrounding it. Numismatic evidence for this can be found in the prolific quantities of gold staters and quarter-staters he struck at the settlement, which depict a corn-ear flanked by the inscription ‘CAMV’. Having solidified his holdings north of the Thames, it seems that Cunobelin extended his influence into Kent. Indeed, many of his coins are found there, as are those of his probable son – Adminius (Amminus). The subsequent power vacuum caused by his death in AD 40, followed by a brief period of instability which seems to have manifested across much of eastern and southern Britain, would be quickly filled following the Claudian invasion of AD 43 – an event which changed Britain forever.