A Small Collection of British Iron Age Coins, the Property of a Gentleman

GALLO-BELGIC, Stater, series E [Gallic War Uniface type], blank, rev. disjointed horse right, pellets and ornament above, pellet below, 5.93g (ABC 16; VA 52; S 11). Good fine, dumpy flan £300-£360

This lot is a detectorist find and is registered with the The Portable Antiquities Scheme. The find number is BM-E507F3.

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This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Small Collection of British Iron Age Coins, the Property of a Gentleman.

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Provenance: Found in East Hertfordshire, January 2017 (PAS BM-E507F3)

The owner of this small collection of Iron Age coins, who wishes to remain anonymous for personal reasons, received his first metal detector from his parents as a schoolboy on Christmas Day, after showing a keen interest in fossils and those bits of scrap metal which can regularly be found as field finds within Hertfordshire. The machine’s initial deployment came that afternoon following the festive lunch. A local farmer’s field yielded a worn Halfpenny of George III; a modest and unremarkable find, but one that instilled a sense of wonder and enthusiasm that has fuelled a lifelong passion for the hobby. In the succeeding weeks and months more finds followed; from crotal bells and thimbles to copper halfpennies to hammered silvers, all of which were met with glee and excitement. In April the enthusiastic youngster struck gold; excavating a Whaddon Chase Stater, a moment which was to leave an enduring and lasting impression. The allure of gold is obvious, particularly to a schoolboy.

That first Iron Age coin was sold several years later when its finder, then a young man, felt he could derive more excitement from cash in hand than coins in a cabinet. However, as maturity came so did a renewed appreciation for coins of the Iron Age communities. Despite the commitments of family and work, trips out searching remained a weekly event, planned with thought and care as to which sites might prove the most fertile. The coins offered for sale below represent the results of that renewed interest and over three decades of endeavour. Almost all the coins offered below were found by the owner himself, often in the fields of Hertfordshire. Those that were not were excavated by family members sharing in the hobby who, aware of the collector’s passion for the subject, have made contributions to his collection.