REVIEW: ANCIENT BRITISH HOARDS: 18 SEPTEMBER

Two notable hoards – Helmingham and Lenham – more than lived up to expectations as they both sold out during this sale, the first for a hammer total of £132,865, the second for £103,500.

Both have been previewed extensively in earlier issues of the Noonans newsletter and their sale has attracted significant media interest.

Discovered by a metal detectorist in the grounds of Helmingham Hall near Stowmarket in Suffolk, the Helmingham Hoard had been expected to fetch £75,000. It comprised an outstanding collection of over 680 Gold and Silver coins dating from as early as 206 BC right up to the emperor Claudius in 46/47 AD.

The finder, George Ridgway, aged 34, said: “I was inspired by my childhood hero Indiana Jones to start history hunting when I was 4 years old, and I dreamed of finding a Roman hoard since my grandmother bought me a metal detector for my 12th birthday. It was an awe-inspiring moment when I realised that I had found one!”

Alice Cullen, Coin Specialist at Noonans, added: “This is one of the largest hoards containing both Iron Age coins and Roman coins found in Britain, with the latest coins of Claudius and those of Cunobelin in virtually as struck condition. The location of the hoard together with the date range suggests the coins may have been buried by a long serving Legionary soldier from the XX Legion, who were stationed at nearby Colchester. In 47 AD the East Anglian Iceni tribe rebelled after the Roman governor Ostorius ordered them to disarm, resulting in a fierce battle that was likely held at Stonea Camp in Cambridgeshire, which the Romans won. Is it possible our hoard was concealed by a victim at this conflict.”

The highest price of the sale was for a Denarius of Gaius Caesar, better known as Caligula, dating from AD 37-38. Decorated with a portrait of Agrippina, it sold for £7,000 against an estimate of £2,000-£2,600, while a Denarius of Claudius (41-54), dating from AD 41-42, sold for £5,000 against hopes of £1,500-1,800.

The Lenham Hoard comprised 35 gold coins or staters found during a rally in Kent in August 2022, along with nine fragments of a flint nodule. The collection’s £103,500 hammer price was over five times the estimate.

Tony Asquith, who is retired and has been detecting for over 45 years, discovered the scattered hoard at a spot that is only 35 miles from where Julius Caesar landed at Pegwell Bay in 55BC. Tony was in the saleroom for the auction, but speechless after the sale.

Nigel Mills, Coins and Artefacts Specialist at Noonans, said: “The staters date to around 55BC after Julius Caesar had conquered Gaul and attempted to invade Britain. They all have a shallow domed obverse with a dished reverse that displays an abstract or devolved horse galloping to the right with a charioteer’s arm above. The coins were concealed within the flint nodule which was formed 90-70 million years ago. The hollow interior would originally have contained mud and the decayed remains of marine animals. 10 other hoards of Iron Age gold coins contained in flint nodules have been found in Britain, but all of them are in museums.”

The top lot was a Gallo-Belgic Stater decorated with a head of Apollo on one side and a stylised horse and a charioteer on the other. Estimated at £500-700, it made £7,500. Another Gallo-Belgic stater took £6,500 against an estimate of £600-800. The nodule took £4,800 against a guide of £80-100.