Cunobelinus Classic A. C-Dot Spiky-Line Type. Sills class 7c, Classic A, Arc Stem, dies 82/139. c.AD 8-41. Gold stater. 18mm. 5.49g. Ear of barley with long whiskers on all eleven grains, arc motif at base of stalk, C.A to left, MV to right./ Classic-style muscular horse rearing up right, neat corded mane, bushy branch above, CVNO on exergual line which has four short radiating spikes on underside, beaded border. ABC−, VA−, BMC 1829, DK−, S−. CCI 20.0423 (this coin). Tiny striking crack, otherwise Good EF, cabinet-toned golden gold, beautiful well-centred barley ear, magnificent muscular horse, complete inscription. An exceptional specimen of superior quality, with C-dot and exergual spikes crisply defined. Ex John Follows collection. Found Finchingfield, near Saffron Walden, Essex. EXCESSIVELY RARE only five others recorded including one in the British Museum.

This beautifully designed, classically inspired stater is characterised by a dot between the letters C and A (which both Rainer Kretz and Dr John Sills say is probably a privy mark) and by four short lines radiating from the underside of the exergual line. Symbolically these lines are like sun-rays radiating from Cuno-Belinus, the divine sun-king. The closest parallel we can find on contemporary coins is the radiate sun-crown on gold aurei and denarii of Caligula, struck at Lugdunum (Lyons), AD 37-40,
which honour the deified Augustus (Sear RCV 1806-10). Cuno’s Gallo-Roman engraver will doubtless have been aware of these and earlier brass and copper coins of Tiberius, AD 15-37, which also show Augustus wearing a spiky radiate crown (Sear RCV 1785-91). Was Cuno copying his Roman role models again? Follows’ fabulous C-Dot Spiky-Line stater is another great rarity among Cunobelinus staters. We’ve only ever had one before and that was 18 years ago. Not in ABC, DK nor Spink (yes, it’s that scarce).