Celtic, Britain, Gold Stater. AD 9-40 Trinovantes & Catuvellauni. *TOP Quality, very sharp details* **Extremely RARE** XF+

Cunobelin.
Camulodunum (Colchester). CA-MV Grain ear; in field to lower left, small X. Rev. CVN Horse leaping right; above, branch and two pellets.
ABC 2774. Van Arsdell 1925-5.
Well struck from unusually fresh dies. **Sharp details**

-The Trinovantes and the Catuvellauni were two of the most important Celtic tribes in south-eastern Britain during the Late Iron Age, immediately before and during the Roman conquest. Their history is closely intertwined and illustrates the political dynamics that facilitated Roman intervention in Britain.

The Trinovantes occupied what is now Essex and Suffolk, with their main political and economic centre at Camulodunum (modern Colchester). By the 1st century BC, they were likely the most powerful tribe in the region. Their king, Mandubracios, was driven into exile by the expanding power of the Catuvellauni and sought the support of Julius Caesar during his second expedition to Britain in 54 BC. This alliance with Rome marks one of the earliest direct political links between Britain and the Roman world. After the Roman conquest, Camulodunum became the first capital of Roman Britain, underlining the lasting importance of the Trinovantian heartland. Numismatically, the Trinovantes produced some of the earliest British coinages, often inspired by Gaulish staters, with highly stylised designs and few or no inscriptions.

The Catuvellauni, whose territory lay to the west and north of the Trinovantes in present-day Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and parts of Middlesex, emerged as the dominant military and political power in south-eastern Britain. Their capital was Verlamion (later Roman Verulamium, modern St Albans). Under kings such as Tasciovanus and, most famously, Cunobelinus—the “Cymbeline” of Shakespeare—the Catuvellauni expanded aggressively, bringing neighbouring tribes, including the Trinovantes, under their control. Their coinage is abundant, sophisticated and often bears Latinised inscriptions such as TASCIO and CVNOBELIN, reflecting increasing contact with the Roman world.

On the eve of the Roman invasion of AD 43, the sons of Cunobelinus, Caratacus and Togodumnus, led the main resistance against the armies of Emperor Claudius. Despite their efforts, the internal rivalries and power struggles between British tribes—particularly the earlier subjugation of the Trinovantes by the Catuvellauni—played a significant role in easing the Roman conquest. Together, the histories of the Trinovantes and the Catuvellauni provide a clear example of how inter-tribal conflict, political ambition and early Roman influence reshaped Britain at the end of the Iron Age.

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