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Catuvellauni Silver Unit (Coiled Hair), the found coin, obverse: Head, Coiled hair, Ring eye and Ringed pellets in front (our reading of the featured photo, with sources on the page)

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Found coin PAS 913621 · CC BY 2.0 · Photo Ros Tyrrell / Ros Tyrrell

Catuvellauni Silver Unit

‘Coiled Hair’

Saved · your collection

Datec. 60–20 BC

Struck inBuckinghamshire

CatalogueABC 2484

Details

Metal: Silver, about 96% silver (estimated)Silver. No analysis of this type has been published; we assume it is close to the high-silver units of the same region analysed for the Celtic Coin Index (about 96% silver). (estimate)
Weight: 1.2 g1.2 g (this coin). records 4 weights, 0.97–1.2 g (mean 1.06 g); Evans's coin weighed 15 grains (0.97 g). The records call it a silver , but at this weight it is a , as IACB has it.^,, (mean calculated here; grains converted at 0.0648 g)
Dimensions: 13.13 mm  diameter by about 1.1 mm  thick13.13 mm (this coin); 12–13.54 mm on the 3 coins measured on IACB. No thickness is recorded. This coin's thickness is not recorded; about 1.1 mm is measured on our 3D model of it, whose volume is matched to the coin's recorded weight.^,
Date: c. 60–20 BCAbout 60–20 BC (IACB).
Where struck: BuckinghamshireNot known exactly. Both PAS finds are from Buckinghamshire (Thornton and Creslow, IACB findspots); the catalogue places the type north of the Thames.^,,
Mint: Not knownNot known: no is named on these coins. (searched IACB, PAS, Evans)
Dies known: Not knownNot known: no of this type was found. (searched IACB, PAS, Evans 1864)
: Not knownNot known: without a count no can be estimated. (no die count published that we could find)
Known examples: 4 on IACB; 4–5 recorded4 coins on IACB (5 records; the is Celtic Coin Index coin 68.1088): one Celtic Coin Index coin, one in the British Museum and two PAS finds. Evans's own coin (1864) may be another, so 4–5 are recorded.^,
Where to see one: British Museum (by appointment)British Museum, London. In store, can be seen by appointment; 1 example (BMC 382). Hobbs's 1996 catalogue of the Museum's Iron Age coins lists this type as no. 382. Not known to be on display; the Money and Medals Study Room shows any coin in the collection by appointment. search the British Museum collection^,Other museum examples may be listed by IACB: see IACBChecked 2026-11-04. Displays change: check with the museum before a visit.

Design

Obverse front

Established A human head in profile facing left, with a large nose and chin.
- One reading Evans wondered whether the heads of this group (his plate G, nos. 1–4) were meant for , 'who, under the name of Andate or Andraste, appears to have been highly venerated by the Britons'.
- Context from the period Like other British heads it descends, through Gaulish copies, from the head of Apollo on the gold of Philip II of Macedon.
Established Long twisted coils of hair sweeping back from the brow to the right edge.
- One reading Evans described the hair of the closely related coin G.2 as 'in long twisted coils, arranged so as to resemble a helmet'.

Reverse back

One reading A horse built from rings and pellets, stepping, with a ring on its shoulder.
- One reading and Evans describe the horse stepping left; the record of this coin describes it stepping right.
- Context from the period The horse is what remains of the two-horse chariot on the of Philip II's stater.

Die-by-die notes on each featureMembers

Examples

4catalogued

2shown

2linked

4known in all^,

FeaturedPAS 9136211.2 g · 13.13 mmPhoto: Ros Tyrrell / The Portable Antiquities Scheme, via Wikimedia CommonsCC BY 2.0

For members

PAS 9140541.1 g · 13.54 mmPhoto: Ros Tyrrell / The Portable Antiquities Scheme, via Wikimedia CommonsCC BY 2.0

Free: the featured coin. Members: the other openly licensed photos.

See every photo full size, and which examples share a dieMembers

Linked examples

CCI 68.1088 · 0.97 g (Celtic Coin Index, non-commercial licence)
British Museum 1919,0213.681 · 0.97 g · 12 mm (museum)

Where these were found

Recorded finds in our records: 2 in 1 county (Buckinghamshire).

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Free view: counted by county

Each find at its parish or district

Finds by county

Buckinghamshire2

Open in the Find map Members: every find, with its record

Find data: Portable Antiquities Scheme (CC BY 4.0), from the records cited on each coin page. Places: Wikidata (CC0). Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Protomaps.

References

Evans 1864, plate G, fig. 3, p. 114Public-domain book · Same type

Evans 1864, plate G, fig. 3, p. 114, Plate G

Evans 1864, plate G, fig. 3, p. 114, p. 114

Plate G, No. 3. Obv.—Head in profile to the left, very like that on the last coin. Rev.—Horse walking to the left, a ring on its shoulder, its head formed with a ring ornament, others above and behind; beneath the horse another and three pellets. AR. 15 grains. This coin is in my own collection, but I do not know where it was found. Like the former, it is unpublished, and from its close connection with it, and from the type being apparently unknown in France, there is little doubt of its being of British origin. The workmanship is not quite so good as that of the last coin. The horse is British in character, and may be compared with that on Plate D, No. 13, though turned in the opposite direction.

Evans 1864, plate G, fig. 3, p. 114 · Read it on p. 114

Whole book at the Internet Archive

Catalogues and books

ABC 2484E. Cottam, P. de Jersey, C. Rudd and J. Sills, Ancient British Coins (Aylsham 2010), no. 2484
E. Cottam, P. de Jersey, C. Rudd and J. , Ancient British Coins (Aylsham 2010), no. 2484 · link
VA 1549R. D. Van Arsdell, Celtic Coinage of Britain (London 1989), no. 1549-1 (as cited by PAS)
R. D. Van Arsdell, Celtic Coinage of Britain (London 1989), no. 1549-1 (as cited by )
BMC 382R. Hobbs, British Iron Age Coins in the British Museum (London 1996), no. 382 (as cited by PAS)
R. Hobbs, British Iron Age Coins in the British Museum (London 1996), no. 382 (as cited by PAS)
S 50, Mack 436Spink, Coins of England, no. 50; R. P. Mack, The Coinage of Ancient Britain (3rd ed., 1975), no. 436 (as given by Numisquare; not checked)
Spink, Coins of England, no. 50; R. P. , The Coinage of Ancient Britain (3rd ed., 1975), no. 436 (as given by Numisquare; not checked)

Sources

1IACB ABC 2484Iron Age Coins in Britain (IACB), University of Oxford: type ABC 2484 (Catuvellauni, North Thames, unit, silver, 60–20 BC; obv. 'Head left, coiled hair'; rev. 'Annulate horse stepping left, pellet in ring above and below') and its examples list (5 records; nomisma.org SPARQL CSV read 3 Nov 2026)
Iron Age Coins in Britain (IACB), University of Oxford: type ABC 2484 (Catuvellauni, North Thames, unit, silver, 60–20 BC; obv. 'Head left, coiled hair'; rev. 'Annulate horse stepping left, pellet in ring above and below') and its examples list (5 records; nomisma.org SPARQL CSV read 3 Nov 2026) link
2PAS 913621Portable Antiquities Scheme record 913621 (BUC-AEF7ED), Buckinghamshire: 'Stater (silver) British Southern British Museum Catalogue type: 382 Van Arsdell Type (VA): 1549.01 Ancient British Coins (ABC): 2484 Obverse description: Whaddon head left with coiled hair Reverse description: Horse stepping right with pellet in a ring above and pellet in a ring of pellets below'; 1.2 g, 13.13 mm (IACB). Photo Ros Tyrrell, CC BY 2.0 (featured coin; Commons copy)
Portable Antiquities Scheme record 913621 (BUC-AEF7ED), Buckinghamshire: 'Stater (silver) British Southern British Museum Catalogue type: 382 Van Arsdell Type (VA): 1549.01 Ancient British Coins (ABC): 2484 Obverse description: Whaddon head left with coiled hair Reverse description: Horse stepping right with pellet in a ring above and pellet in a ring of pellets below'; 1.2 g, 13.13 mm (IACB). Photo Ros Tyrrell, CC BY 2.0 (featured coin; Commons copy) link
3PAS 914054Portable Antiquities Scheme record 914054 (BUC-044FB6), Buckinghamshire: 'A very worn stater (silver) ... VA 1549.01 ... ABC 2484 ... A Whaddon head with coiled hair left ... Traces of a horse stepping right'; 1.1 g, 13.54 mm (IACB). Photo Ros Tyrrell, CC BY 2.0 (Commons copy)
Portable Antiquities Scheme record 914054 (BUC-044FB6), Buckinghamshire: 'A very worn stater (silver) ... VA 1549.01 ... ABC 2484 ... A Whaddon head with coiled hair left ... Traces of a horse stepping right'; 1.1 g, 13.54 mm (IACB). Photo Ros Tyrrell, CC BY 2.0 (Commons copy) link
4Evans 1864J. Evans, The Coins of the Ancient Britons (London 1864), pl. G no. 3, p. 114, and the commentary on pl. G no. 2, pp. 112–113
J. Evans, The Coins of the Ancient Britons (London 1864), pl. G no. 3, p. 114, and the commentary on pl. G no. 2, pp. 112–113 link
p. 114
5Numisquare, Whaddon HeadNumisquare catalogue entry 'Silver Unit Whaddon Head' (ABC 2484, Van Arsdell 1549, Spink 50, BMC 382, Mack 436), as given by a search-engine summary on 4 Nov 2026 (confidence L; page not opened)
Numisquare catalogue entry 'Silver Unit Whaddon Head' (ABC 2484, Van Arsdell 1549, Spink 50, BMC 382, Mack 436), as given by a search-engine summary on 4 Nov 2026 (confidence L; page not opened) link
6CCI 82.0299 and 86.0084Celtic Coin Index records CCI 82.0299 (Cunobelin silver unit, Au 0.43, Ag 95.95, Cu 2.8%) and CCI 86.0084 (Cunobelin silver unit, Au 0.43, Ag 96.55, Cu 2.19%); analyst not named; as used for the silver estimate on our coins 84 and 193
Celtic Coin Index records CCI 82.0299 (Cunobelin silver unit, Au 0.43, Ag 95.95, Cu 2.8%) and CCI 86.0084 (Cunobelin silver unit, Au 0.43, Ag 96.55, Cu 2.19%); analyst not named; as used for the silver estimate on our coins 84 and 193 link
7Wikipedia: CatuvellauniWikipedia, 'Catuvellauni' (read 3 Nov 2026)
Wikipedia, 'Catuvellauni' (read 3 Nov 2026) link
8Wikipedia: Celtic coinageWikipedia, 'Celtic coinage' (read 3 Nov 2026): Celtic coins copied the Macedonian stater of Philip II, head of Apollo and two-horse chariot
Wikipedia, 'Celtic coinage' (read 3 Nov 2026): Celtic coins copied the Macedonian stater of Philip II, head of Apollo and two-horse chariot link
9Hobbs 1996R. Hobbs, British Iron Age Coins in the British Museum (London 1996): the British Museum's own coins, by catalogue number (BMC)
R. Hobbs, British Iron Age Coins in the British Museum (London 1996): the British Museum's own coins, by catalogue number (BMC)
10Wikipedia: BM Money and MedalsWikipedia, 'British Museum Department of Money and Medals' (read 29 Oct 2026): 'Items from the full collection can be seen by the general public in the Study Room by appointment.'
Wikipedia, 'British Museum Department of Money and Medals' (read 29 Oct 2026): 'Items from the full collection can be seen by the general public in the Study Room by appointment.' link

Tribe

Catuvellauni · c. 60–20 BC (this issue)

Catuvellauni, people of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire

The lived north of the Thames, in today's Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and southern Cambridgeshire. This coin belongs to their silver, struck before Tasciovanos began to put his name on coins at Verlamion (St Albans) from about 20 BC. Its two recorded finds come from Buckinghamshire; Evans, who owned one in 1864, did not know where his was found.^,,

Known for Becoming the leading power north of the Thames under Tasciovanos and Cunobelin, and leading the resistance to the Roman conquest in AD 43.

Read more: Wikipedia: Catuvellauni · Iron Age Coins in Britain: ABC 2484 · PAS record 913621 (featured coin) · Catuvellauni and Trinovantes: all coins

Value

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Other recorded sales, each with its sourceNo sale or dealer listing of 2484 found.

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