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Cunobelin Silver Unit (Lyre Player), the found coin, obverse: Ribbed hair, Bun at the nape, Crescent on the brow, Female head right, Draped shoulders, Legend (TASC)IIOVANII and Beaded border (our reading of the featured photo, with sources on the page)

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Found coin PAS 913043 · CC BY 2.0 · Photo Ros Tyrrell / Ros Tyrrell

Cunobelin Silver Unit

‘Lyre Player’

Saved · your collection

Datec. AD 10–40

Struck inBuckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire

CatalogueABC 2867

Details

Metal: Silver, about 97% silver (from related coins)Silver. No analysis of this type was found; the figures used are those of an analysed silver of Cunobelin of the same classicising series ( 2870), as on our coin 173. (estimate from a related coin; no analysis of ABC 2867 seen)
Weight: 1.3 g1.3 g (this coin). records 24 weights: mean 1.18 g, median 1.20 g, range 0.84–1.38 g. Evans gives 19⅝ grains (1.27 g) for the British Museum coin he engraved.^,, (averages calculated here from the IACB weights)
Dimensions: 12.1 mm  diameter by about 1.3 mm  thick12.1 mm (this coin); 11.1–15 mm on the 6 coins with a recorded diameter on IACB (median 12.5 mm). No thickness is recorded for this type. This coin's thickness is not recorded; about 1.3 mm is measured on our 3D model of it, whose volume is matched to the coin's recorded weight.^,
Date: c. AD 10–40About AD 10–40 (IACB; records give AD 10–40).^,
Where struck: Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and NorthamptonshireNot known exactly. Recorded finds cluster in Buckinghamshire (IACB findspots Bledlow-cum-Saunderton, Amersham, West Wycombe, Thornton), with others at Tring Rural (Hertfordshire) and Brackley and in Northamptonshire.^,
Mint: Not knownNot known: this type names no (some of Cunobelin's coins name Camulodunon, Colchester). (searched IACB, PAS, Evans 1864)
Dies known: Not knownNot known: no of this type was found. (searched IACB, PAS, Evans 1864; de Jersey 2001 not seen)
: Not knownNot known: without a count no can be estimated. (no die count published that we could find)
Known examples: At least 31; 29 on IACB29 on IACB (22 Celtic Coin Index records, 3 British Museum coins, 3 PAS finds and the ABC ). Two more PAS finds with photos (Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire) are not on the IACB list, so at least 31 are recorded.^,
Close types: Not ABC 2870 or 2882ABC 2867 is the only Cunobelin unit with a seated player. Two related units also carry Tasciovanos's name in part: the unit (ABC 2870, our coin 173: winged with CVNO, sphinx with TASCIO) and the Winged unit (ABC 2882: bust with CVNOBELINVS, Victory on a with TAS CIIOV).^,
Where to see one: British Museum (by appointment)British Museum, London. In store, can be seen by appointment; 4 examples (BMC 1879–1882). Hobbs's 1996 catalogue of the Museum's Iron Age coins lists this type as nos. 1879–1882. 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 Hair drawn as ribbed waves swept back from the brow into a thick roll at the left.
- Established Evans: 'the hair gathered into a roll and tied with a fillet behind', the dressed hair of a classical woman's portrait.
- Context from the period The copies a Roman portrait model, as do the designs of all of Cunobelin's silver of this group (de Jersey 2001, as cited by the dealer).
Established A small , horns upward, set on top of the head above the brow.
- One reading Evans took the head for , the moon goddess, whose head on Roman coins usually wears a diadem and crescent; the crescent seen on better-preserved finds fits that reading.
Established A woman's head in profile facing right; on this coin the face is worn almost flat.
- One reading Evans: 'apparently that of Diana, of much the same character as that on the common silver coins of Massilia'.
- One reading Evans and describe a female bust; says only 'head/bust right'.
- Context from the period Like the rest of Cunobelin's classicising silver, the portrait follows a Roman model (de Jersey 2001, as cited by the dealer).
Established Tall letters running down in front of the face, IIOVANII; better-struck coins also show TASC behind the head, reading together TASCIIOVANII.
- One reading The name of Tasciovanos, Cunobelin's predecessor; Cunobelin is usually read as his son, and other coins call him so outright.
- Established Evans read TASCIIOVAN; Camden and Speed misread it as TASNOVANE and TASC VANIT.
- Established Two other Cunobelin units pair his name with part of Tasciovanos's: the ( 2870, TASCIO) and the Winged unit (ABC 2882, TAS CIIOV).

Reverse back

Established A figure seated to the right, head bent forward over a held up in front.
- One reading Evans: 'Apollo seated, naked, except round the loins, and playing the lyre', copied (as Stukeley saw) from a coin of Augustus showing Apollo seated on a rock playing the lyre; Evans thought friendship with, or flattery of, Augustus lay behind the choice.
- One reading A recent dealer description calls the player female, with her hair in a bun.
- One reading Camden (1586) linked Apollo with his harp to the god Belinus and to the name Cunobelin; modern scholars derive the name from Brittonic words meaning 'strong dog'.
Established A lyre with a curved frame and about five strings, held in front of the player.
- One reading The lyre is the instrument of Apollo, which is why Evans names the player Apollo.
Established A block-like seat under the player, draped with cloth.
- One reading Evans: on the Augustan model Apollo sits on a rock; here he sits on 'a cylindrical object, possibly the cortina', the tripod-bowl of Apollo's oracle.
Established A tree with bare branches behind the seated player, at the left.
- One reading Evans: the tree is one of the details 'introduced' by the British die-cutter; the Augustan model has none.
Established Letters running up in front of the player and over the top: CVNOBELI, the name of Cunobelin.
- One reading The issuer's name, in the genitive or abbreviated form CVNOBELI(NI), '(coin) of Cunobelin'.

Die-by-die notes on each featureMembers

Examples

7catalogued

4shown

3linked

29known in all^,

FeaturedPAS 9130431.3 g · 12.1 mmPhoto: Ros Tyrrell / The Portable Antiquities Scheme, via Wikimedia CommonsCC BY 2.0

For members

PAS 8281300.84 g · 11.1 mmPhoto: The Portable Antiquities Scheme, Arwen Wood, via Wikimedia CommonsCC BY 2.0

PAS 440568BuckinghamshirePhoto: Buckinghamshire County Museum, Ros Tyrrell / The Portable Antiquities Scheme / The Trustees of the British Museum, via Wikimedia CommonsCC BY-SA 4.0 · crop shared under the same licence

PAS 192366NorthamptonshirePhoto: Norfolk County Council, Steven Ashby / The Portable Antiquities Scheme / The Trustees of the British Museum, via Wikimedia CommonsCC BY-SA 4.0 · crop shared under the same licence

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

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

Linked examples

PAS 802340 · 1.1 g · 12 mm · Buckinghamshire (PAS)
Silbury Coins IAC415 · 1.11 g · 13 mm (sale)
Silbury Coins EC771 · 1.29 g · 11 mm (sale)

Where these were found

Recorded finds in our records: 5 in 2 counties (most in Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire).

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Free view: counted by county

Each find at its parish or district

Finds by county

Buckinghamshire4
Northamptonshire1

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 X, fig. 10, pp. 312–313Public-domain book · Same type

Evans 1864, plate X, fig. 10, pp. 312–313, Plate X

Evans 1864, plate X, fig. 10, pp. 312–313, p. 312

Evans 1864, plate X, fig. 10, pp. 312–313, p. 313

Plate X., No. 10. Obv.—TASCIIOVAN. Female bust, the hair gathered into a roll and tied with a fillet behind; the shoulders draped; the whole within a beaded circle. Rev.—CVNOBELI. Apollo seated, naked, except round the loins, and playing the lyre; behind, a tree. There is an exergual line, and the whole is surrounded by a beaded circle. AR. 19⅝ grains. This coin, here engraved from a specimen in the British Museum, was also known to Speed and Camden, though the obverse legend was misread as TASNOVANE and TASC VANIT. It is engraved in Gibson's edition of Camden, pl. i. 7 and 23, and in Gough's, pl. i. 7. The type is also given in Stukeley, pl. vi. 4; Pegge, cl. iv. 1 and 3; Ruding, pl. iv. 9; Hawkins, pl. ii. 23; Akerman, pl. xxiii. 7; Mon. Hist. Brit., pl. i. 14; Arch. Assoc. Journ. vol. v. p. 152; and Beale Poste, p. 153. The execution of this coin is admirable; indeed, both in drawing and workmanship it is superior to many of the [p. 313] Roman coins of the period. The devices on either side appear to be purely classical. On the obverse the head is apparently that of Diana, of much the same character as that on the common silver coins of Massilia. There is hardly enough shown of the head to see whether it has the diadem and crescent, with which the head of this goddess is usually represented on the Roman family coins. The figure of Apollo on the reverse, as Stukeley long since pointed out, is copied from a coin of Augustus (Cohen, No. 70), on which the god is represented naked, seated on a rock, and playing the lyre. The device differs, however, in some of its details, a tree being introduced behind the figure, which also, instead of being on a rock, is seated on a cylindrical object, possibly the cortina. Both Diana and Apollo* were held in especial reverence by Augustus, as he considered that two of his principal victories had been won under their auspices—that over Sextus Pompeius at Artemisium or Dianium, near Mylæ; and that over Antony, off Actium, where there was a celebrated temple of Apollo. The Actian Apollo is frequently represented on the coins of Augustus, who enlarged his temple and restored the ancient games in his honour. He is, however, usually clad in a stola flowing down to his feet. Though in the present instance this stola is wanting, we have seen that on one at least of the coins of Augustus, the Apollo Citharœdus is naked; and looking at the types of this coin of Cunobeline, there seems fair ground for supposing that the friendship or flattery of Augustus may have conduced to their adoption. [* Eckhel, Doct. Num., vi. 93.]

Evans 1864, plate X, fig. 10, pp. 312–313 · Read it on p. 312 and p. 313

Whole book at the Internet Archive

Catalogues and books

ABC 2867E. Cottam, P. de Jersey, C. Rudd and J. Sills, Ancient British Coins (Aylsham 2010), p. 138, no. 2867
E. Cottam, P. de Jersey, C. Rudd and J. , Ancient British Coins (Aylsham 2010), p. 138, no. 2867 · link
VA 2059R. D. Van Arsdell, Celtic Coinage of Britain (London 1989), no. 2059
R. D. Van Arsdell, Celtic Coinage of Britain (London 1989), no. 2059
BMC 1879–1882R. Hobbs, British Iron Age Coins in the British Museum (London 1996), nos. 1879–1882
R. Hobbs, British Iron Age Coins in the British Museum (London 1996), nos. 1879–1882
S 314Spink, Coins of England and the United Kingdom, no. 314
Spink, Coins of England and the United Kingdom, no. 314
de Jersey D2P. de Jersey, 'Cunobelin's silver', Britannia 32 (2001), pp. 1–44, type D2 (as cited by the dealer; not seen)
P. de Jersey, 'Cunobelin's silver', Britannia 32 (2001), pp. 1–44, type D2 (as cited by the dealer; not seen)

Sources

1IACB ABC 2867Iron Age Coins in Britain (IACB), University of Oxford: type ABC 2867 (ruler Cunobelinus; Catuvellauni and Trinovantes; North Thames; silver unit; AD 10–40; obv. legend TASC IIOVANII, 'Head/bust right, hair in bun on nape, TASC behind, IIOVANII in front'; rev. legend CVNOBE[LI], 'Seated lyre player right, CVNOBE[LI] in front') and its examples list (29 records: 22 Celtic Coin Index, 3 British Museum, 3 PAS, 1 ABC exemplar; CSV export read 3 Nov 2026)
Iron Age Coins in Britain (IACB), University of Oxford: type ABC 2867 (ruler Cunobelinus; Catuvellauni and Trinovantes; North Thames; silver unit; AD 10–40; obv. legend TASC IIOVANII, 'Head/bust right, hair in bun on nape, TASC behind, IIOVANII in front'; rev. legend CVNOBE[LI], 'Seated lyre player right, CVNOBE[LI] in front') and its examples list (29 records: 22 Celtic Coin Index, 3 British Museum, 3 PAS, 1 ABC exemplar; CSV export read 3 Nov 2026) link
2PAS 913043Portable Antiquities Scheme record 913043 (BUC-45373D), Buckinghamshire (featured coin): 'British Museum Catalogue type: 1879 Van Arsdell Type (VA): 2059.01 Ancient British Coins (ABC): 2867. Obverse description: Female head right with hair in a bun ... Reverse description: Draped figure seated, playing a lyre. Lower half has a pelleted border Reverse inscription: CVNOBELI'; 1.3 g, 12.1 mm (IACB). Photo Ros Tyrrell, CC BY 2.0 (Commons copy)
Portable Antiquities Scheme record 913043 (BUC-45373D), Buckinghamshire (featured coin): 'British Museum Catalogue type: 1879 Van Arsdell Type (VA): 2059.01 Ancient British Coins (ABC): 2867. Obverse description: Female head right with hair in a bun ... Reverse description: Draped figure seated, playing a lyre. Lower half has a pelleted border Reverse inscription: CVNOBELI'; 1.3 g, 12.1 mm (IACB). Photo Ros Tyrrell, CC BY 2.0 (Commons copy) link
3PAS 828130, 440568, 192366, 802340Portable Antiquities Scheme records 828130 (Buckinghamshire; 'Cunobelinus Lyre Player' type ... Female bust right, IIOVANII in front ... Seated lyre player right, CV[NOBELI] in front. As ABC p. 138, no. 2867; BMC-1879-82'; 0.84 g, 11.1 mm, axis 7 on IACB), 440568 (Buckinghamshire; 'Draped female bust right with hair in a bun & a crescent moon on the brow. TASCIIOVANII. Rev: Seated figure draped & playing a lyre. Traces of the branches of the tree behind figure CVNOBELI ... BMC Hobbs 1879-82; Rudd ABC 2867'), 192366 (Northamptonshire; 'Figure seated right, playing lyre, tree behind, pellet border / CVNOBELI'; 'Hobbs 1879') and 802340 (Buckinghamshire; ''Lyre Player' type ... ABC p. 138, no. 2867; BMC 1879-1892'; 1.1 g, 12 mm on IACB) (Commons copies)
Portable Antiquities Scheme records 828130 (Buckinghamshire; 'Cunobelinus Lyre Player' type ... Female bust right, IIOVANII in front ... Seated lyre player right, CV[NOBELI] in front. As ABC p. 138, no. 2867; BMC-1879-82'; 0.84 g, 11.1 mm, axis 7 on IACB), 440568 (Buckinghamshire; 'Draped female bust right with hair in a bun & a crescent moon on the brow. TASCIIOVANII. Rev: Seated figure draped & playing a lyre. Traces of the branches of the tree behind figure CVNOBELI ... BMC Hobbs 1879-82; Rudd ABC 2867'), 192366 (Northamptonshire; 'Figure seated right, playing lyre, tree behind, pellet border / CVNOBELI'; 'Hobbs 1879') and 802340 (Buckinghamshire; ''Lyre Player' type ... ABC p. 138, no. 2867; BMC 1879-1892'; 1.1 g, 12 mm on IACB) (Commons copies) link
4Evans 1864J. Evans, The Coins of the Ancient Britons (London 1864), Cunobelinus, silver coins, pl. X.10, pp. 312–313; public domain, scan archive.org coinsofancientbr00evan
J. Evans, The Coins of the Ancient Britons (London 1864), Cunobelinus, silver coins, pl. X.10, pp. 312–313; public domain, scan archive.org coinsofancientbr00evan link
p. 312
5Silbury Coins, ABC 2867 listingsSilbury Coins, fixed-price listings IAC415 (13 mm, 1.11 g; ABC 2867, Evans X.10, VA 2059, de Jersey 2001 type D2, citing de Jersey that all types of this group copy classical prototypes; listed 2026) and EC771 (11 mm, 1.29 g; ABC 2867, S 314; listed 2018); both no longer in stock (read 3 Nov 2026)
Silbury Coins, fixed-price listings IAC415 (13 mm, 1.11 g; ABC 2867, Evans X.10, VA 2059, de Jersey 2001 type D2, citing de Jersey that all types of this group copy classical prototypes; listed 2026) and EC771 (11 mm, 1.29 g; ABC 2867, S 314; listed 2018); both no longer in stock (read 3 Nov 2026) link
6Wikipedia: CunobelineWikipedia, 'Cunobeline' (read 3 Nov 2026): king in south-eastern Britain c. AD 9–40, named by Suetonius ('Britannorum rex') and Dio Cassius; minted at Camulodunum and Verlamion; some coins call him the son of Tasciovanus; sons Adminius, Togodumnus and Caratacus, brother Epaticcus; name from Brittonic *cuno- 'dog' and *belino- 'strong'
Wikipedia, 'Cunobeline' (read 3 Nov 2026): king in south-eastern Britain c. AD 9–40, named by Suetonius ('Britannorum rex') and Dio Cassius; minted at Camulodunum and Verlamion; some coins call him the son of Tasciovanus; sons Adminius, Togodumnus and Caratacus, brother Epaticcus; name from Brittonic *cuno- 'dog' and *belino- 'strong' link
7CCI 86.0084Celtic Coin Index record CCI 86.0084 (analysis figures; analyst not named): Cunobelin silver unit ABC 2870, 1.12 g, Au 0.43, Ag 96.55, Cu 2.19%; used for our coin 173
Celtic Coin Index record CCI 86.0084 (analysis figures; analyst not named): Cunobelin silver unit ABC 2870, 1.12 g, Au 0.43, Ag 96.55, Cu 2.19%; used for our coin 173 link
8Hobbs 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)
9Wikipedia: 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
10Camden's Britannia (Commons)William Camden, Britannia, Tabula I Nummi Britannici fig. 7 and note, as quoted on the Wikimedia Commons file page 'British Coin 19' (Herman Moll's map engraving after Camden; public domain): 'Apollo with his harp, and the name of Cunobeline on the reverse, bring to my mind what I have somewhere observed of the God Belinus'
William Camden, Britannia, Tabula I Nummi Britannici fig. 7 and note, as quoted on the Wikimedia Commons file page 'British Coin 19' (Herman Moll's map engraving after Camden; public domain): 'Apollo with his harp, and the name of Cunobeline on the reverse, bring to my mind what I have somewhere observed of the God Belinus' link
11IACB ABC 2870 and 2882Iron Age Coins in Britain: ABC 2870 (Cunobelinus; obv. winged bust right, CVNO; rev. sphinx, TASCIO) and ABC 2882 (Cunobelinus; obv. 'Head/bust right, CVNO behind, BELINVS in front'; rev. 'Winged figure (prototype: Victory) standing on globe, wreath in right hand, TAS behind, CIIOV in front')
Iron Age Coins in Britain: ABC 2870 (Cunobelinus; obv. winged bust right, CVNO; rev. sphinx, TASCIO) and ABC 2882 (Cunobelinus; obv. 'Head/bust right, CVNO behind, BELINVS in front'; rev. 'Winged figure (prototype: Victory) standing on globe, wreath in right hand, TAS behind, CIIOV in front') link

Ruler

Cunobelin · c. AD 9–40

King north of the Thames; named by Roman writers

Cunobelin (Cunobelinus) ruled much of south-eastern England, the lands of the and , from about AD 9 to about AD 40. Suetonius called him 'King of the Britons'. He struck coins at Camulodunon (Colchester) and Verlamion (St Albans); some of his coins call him the son of Tasciovanos, whose name this coin carries on the . The Roman-style and player of this are among the classical images that suggest close ties with Rome.^,

Known for The best-known British king before the Roman conquest, with one of the largest Iron Age coinages; Shakespeare's Cymbeline.

Family and links

Tasciovanosfather

Cunobelinthis coin Epaticcusbrother?

Cunobelin: the ruler of this coin · on the timeline
Tasciovanos: father (some coins call Cunobelin his son); read from coin legends · on the timeline
Caratacus: son; recorded · on the timeline
Epaticcus: brother, probably; one reading · on the timeline

People Catuvellauni and Trinovantes: Iron Age peoples north of the Thames, in today's Hertfordshire, Essex, Buckinghamshire and neighbouring counties, united under Cunobelin with centres at Colchester and St Albans.

Read more: Wikipedia: Cunobeline · Iron Age Coins in Britain: ABC 2867 · PAS record 913043 (featured coin) · Cunobelin: all coins · Catuvellauni and Trinovantes: all coins

Value

Members

Last sale £1,200 asking (no longer in stock) · Silbury Coins fixed-price listing IAC415, 2026-10

Other recorded sales (£280 to £1,200), each with its sourceDealer asking prices for two coins listed in 2018 and 2026 and no longer in stock.

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