A metal detector enthusiast has discovered a rare gold coin inscribed with the name of a little-known pre-Roman British ruler, famous for the phrase: “Power is Gold.” This coin was recently auctioned in the UK.
The rare coin was found in Hampshire in March of this year and was auctioned on September 28 at Spink auction house for a price of £20,400 (approximately $24,720).
Front and back of the rare gold coin recently discovered in the UK.
John Sill, an archaeologist at the Archaeology Institute of the University of Oxford, who appraised the coin prior to its auction, noted that the coin is inscribed with the Latin phrase “Esunertos”, which translates to “Power is Gold.”
This gold coin dates back to around 50-30 BC, following Julius Caesar’s second invasion of Britain. Caesar’s invasion did not lead to permanent control of the Roman Empire over the British until AD 43, under Emperor Claudius, when the Romans gained long-term control over parts of Britain.
This coin is one of only three recorded coins bearing the name Esunertos. All three coins were found in the same area, which may have been under the jurisdiction of Esunertos, including what is now western Hampshire.
Ian Leins, who oversees collections and interiors at English Heritage, a charity managing historic sites in the UK, stated: “In the time following Caesar’s invasion, the political situation in Britain may have changed. Rome had conquered Gaul in 50 BC, and the threat of another invasion attempt in Britain had emerged.”
Leins, who was not involved in the coin’s analysis, added: “Rome was intervening in British affairs, and the British suddenly faced a series of new opportunities and threats due to the shifting political landscape.”
Leins remarked: “In this rapidly changing political context, I suspect that new political leaders emerged. If an individual accumulated enough power and wealth to expand their influence, issuing a coin was a mechanism for them to extend their influence further.”
Esunertos may have been one of these leaders and could have thus minted his own coin, although there is no information to indicate whether he actually proclaimed himself as a “king.”
