Catuvellaunii & Trinovantes Cunobelinus c. AD 8-40 Classic Type Gold Quarter Stater *Very Rare*

Catuvellaunii & Trinovantes Cunobelinus c. AD 8-40 Classic Type Gold Quarter Stater

Corn ear (barley) with central stalk, four symmetrical pairs of corn, bold bristles, an ornate, flourishing scroll at the base of the stem. Inscription (CA MV) either side.

Neat horse rearing right. Branch above. Inscription (CVNO) below.

Minted at Camulodunum, modern-day Colchester, United Kingdom

Very Rare

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ABC 2822; 10mm, 1.35g

Sills DK 589 (2 obverse, 8 reverse dies): North Thames Coinage; Type: Cunobelinus; Quarter Staters: Class 7b – Classic A, Scroll Stem. Based on the Classic A Scroll Stem (ABC 2798), which is the equivalent stater and struck at the same time as the Classic A, Bow Stem (Sills 587) and Classic A Scroll Stem quarters. The scroll is a reduced version of the stater’s, with pellet serifs in CAMV. It has a reverse die link with Classic A, Bow Stem quarters.

Sills chronology: Gallo-Belgic Ca – British G (Early Clacton) / Aa Westerham – British La (Whaddon Chase) – British Lb (Westbury) – Addedomaros – Dubnovellaunos – Tasciovanos – Cunobelinus (Biga – Linear – Wild – Plastic – Classic).

Provenance

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

Davissons auction 12, lot 556 Nov 1999. ex Spink Sept 1996. Spink COE 2026 plate coin (296) VA 2038 var.

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.