Cunobelinus (Agr?) No Branch Type. Sills class 4, dies 41/74. c.AD 8-41. Gold stater. 17-19mm. 5.33g. Ear of barley with long tendrils and cross at base of stalk, CA to left, M[V] to right./ Long-eared horse right, CVNO below on exergual line, beaded border. ABC 2792 VA 2020, BMC 1825-26, DK 558 (this coin), S 286. CCI 13.0539 (this coin). Good VF, rose gold, ornate tendrils, fat horse, bold CVNO. A most unusual and enigmatic stater, only the second we’ve had of this type and one of the few to be offered at public auction. Ex John Follows collection. Found Shouldham, Norfolk, 6.10.2012. EXTREMELY RARE only 14 others recorded, including three in museums.

Follows’ No Branch stater is not only extremely rare and extremely strange; it is also potentially an extremely important stater. Why? Because it might have been struck on behalf of Cunobelinus by Agr, whom we believe to have been Cunobelinus’ first son and heir apparent (see lot 49). We aren’t the only people to have considered the possibility that Agr struck a gold stater. Commenting on the No Branch Type Dr John Sills writes: “At first sight its position in the die chain makes it a candidate to be the companion to the CAM CVN quarters [ABC 2819, 2999, 3002], which have no equivalent stater, but there are no stylistic similarities between the two groups. Nevertheless, the No Branch type is an oddity within the stater series and its position adjacent to the A and AGR quarters [ABC 2999, 3002] – if the latter have been placed correctly – may be a sign of temporary disruption at the mint following the disappearance of AGR” (DK, p.627). Many years ago it was rumoured that an Agr stater had been found in Essex, but we never saw it. Four years ago we were shown another, 18mm, 5.42g, reportedly found near Chelmsford, Essex, 7 March 2016, but it was a modern fake in our opinon. Follows’ No Branch stater is genuine (we guarantee it is). If it wasn’t, it wouldn’t be in this catalogue, neither would Sills have illustrated it in Divided Kingdoms, p.627 (this coin), nor specifically mentioned it twice, pp.658 and 678 (this coin).