A coin bearing the name of an unknown British king from the time of Julius Caesar has been banned from sale abroad, in a bid to protect our ancient heritage.
The British Government has taken the rare step of placing an export ban on a single, tiny, ancient gold coin. What separates this tiny trinket from similar historical finds is that it bears the name of a hitherto unknown king in England, who was a contemporary of Julius Caesar.
Little is known about this Britonic King of Wessex, named Esunertos, other than that he was a “leader with power and influence”, but this rare connection has caused the coin to be valued at £20,040, excluding VAT, leading to fears it could be lost in a private collection.
The temporary bar on its sale abroad has been brought in with the hopes that a British public institution might purchase it and preserve it for future generations.
Arts Minister Sir Chris Bryant said: “This Iron Age coin is a unique item from the time of Julius Caesar providing fascinating insights into who ruled parts of England and the very foundations of our early history.”
The Labour minister continued: “As a rare object from our distant past, I hope a suitable UK buyer can be found so it can teach us about this period in our history and be studied and enjoyed by the public for years to come.”
The coin’s importance in the historical record is hard to understate. When the most famous of Roman leaders, Caesar, landed on the south coast in 55BC, he wrote the very first extended recorded account of the people who lived in Britain.
This account is one of the few written documents we have about this mysterious time in our history. But the Roman general was writing for the people back in Rome and not historians, so we know little details about the kings and chieftains who ruled Britain before it was conquered.
The decision to ban its export comes after a Government committee decided the tiny gold coin was: “So closely connected with our history and national life and was of outstanding significance to the study of archaeology, numismatics, history, and linguistics.”
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Committee Member Tim Pestell explained the importance of the find, which represents one of the first discoveries of the name of a British person.
“Discovering the name of a previously unknown person from Britain’s pre-historic Late Iron Age is a rare and special occasion. The recovery of this tiny gold ‘quarter stater’ coin in Hampshire’s Test Valley in 2023 has provided archaeologists with a unique witness to the life of Esunertos, who lived c.40-30BC and whose name appears on one side.
“A British contemporary of Julius Caesar, he was clearly a leader with power and influence among the Belgae tribe in southern England. Despite its diminutive size, this coin therefore has huge potential to help tell us more about the tribal people of our pre-Roman period and, through its inscription, even the language they spoke.
“I earnestly hope that the deferral of this coin from being exported will allow a public institution to acquire and display this most special and nationally significant object, evidencing as it does the rule of Esunertos – one of the first British people whose name we now know.”
Sourse: www.express.co.uk
