Digital museum showcasing the collection of worldwide legends over the years! 千古不朽博物館展示多年來收藏的世界傳奇故事!
Catuvellauni & Trinovantes Tribe
Cunobelin
Silverstater
卡圖維拉尼&特里諾凡特斯部落
庫諾貝林
銀斯塔特
Item number: A381
Year: AD 10-42
Material: Silver
Size: 11.5 x 10.9 x 1.6 mm
Weight: 0.85 g
Provenance: Noonans 2022
This is a Stater silver coin minted between AD 10 and AD 42 during the reign of the legendary tribal chief Cunobelin, who ruled over the Catuvellauni and Trinovantes tribes in southeastern England. The coin showcases distinct Celtic craftsmanship and cultural features.
The obverse of the coin features a robust, maned boar facing left, with a circular dot adorning its back and another below its belly. However, much of the boar’s depiction is obscured by red and green corrosion on the coin’s surface. The reverse side displays a coiled serpent motif embellished with beaded details, surrounded by geometric curvilinear patterns.
Cunobelin governed a substantial portion of southeastern Britain from approximately AD 10 to 42, succeeding his father, Tasciovanus, as chief of the Catuvellauni, a tribe based north of present-day London. Either shortly before or after his accession, Cunobelin annexed the territory of the Trinovantes in modern Essex and designated Camulodunum (modern Colchester) as his capital and the location of his mint. From this central location, Cunobelin expanded his influence over much of southeastern Britain, and his coinage evolved from Celtic to Roman-influenced designs, a transformation initiated under his father’s leadership. His dominance was so pronounced that the Roman biographer Suetonius referred to him as Britannorum rex (“King of the Britons”) in his work The Twelve Caesars.
Around AD 40, Cunobelin banished his son Adminius, who subsequently fled to Rome and persuaded Caligula to prepare for an invasion of Britain. Although the expedition was organized, it never departed. Following Cunobelin’s death, his other sons, Caratacus and Togodumnus, exhibited hostility towards Rome, providing Emperor Claudius with the pretext to impose Roman rule on the island.
Philip de Jersey, “Cunobelin’s Silver,” Britannia, 2001, pp. 1-44
Creighton, J. (2000). Conclusion and epilogue: from Britain to Britannia. In Coins and Power in Late Iron Age Britain (pp. 216–221). Cambridge University Press.