Celtic Gold
During the Iron Age the Corieltauvi (formerly known as the Coritani) territory was centred on modern Lincolnshire and extended into Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire and Yorkshire. They began to make gold and silver coins in about 50BC.
Making a Mint
At least three Corieltauvi 'mints' (centres of coin production) are known, perhaps suggesting that the federation was made up of at least three tribes. The coins were made by striking a blank disc of metal between a pair of dies. More than 3000 fragments of moulds for casting coin blanks have been found at Old Sleaford in Lincolnshire.
These early coins were imitations of so-called Gallo-Belgic coins which were used on the Continent, in what we now call France and Belgium. These in turn copied the coins of the Ancient Greeks. On most of the Corieltauvi gold coins, known as staters, a wreath appears on one side and a stylised horse on the other. In the early 1st century AD, some staters also carried the names of the tribal chiefs who issued them. It is possible that the use of Latin inscription on ancient British coinage reflects increased levels of contact between the Celtic and Roman worlds before the Conquest.
Princely Gifts
Celtic gold and silver coins would not have been used in the same way as we use coins today. Rather than buying goods, they were probably given by tribal leaders and others in the upper echelons of society as gifts to other leaders or as a reward for services.
See Them for Yourself
The Hull and East Riding Museum holds 21 gold staters from a hoard discovered near Beverley in East Yorkshire. These coins all date from the late 1st century BC. The hoard totals over 100 coins and other examples have been acquired by the British Museum and the East Riding of Yorkshire Museums Service. The museum also holds 28 gold staters from a hoard buried near Driffield, East Yorkshire in about 40 AD.
