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We'll be launching
2009 with a
remarkable silver
coin - a silver coin
we've always wanted
but never been able
to find, until now
that is. It's the
Petersfield
Cernunnos, named
after the celebrated
specimen found near
Petersfield,
Hampshire, in 1982
(or earlier) and
which is in the
National Museum of
Wales. Minted by the
Belgae or Regini -
we aren't sure
which, so we've
catalogued it under
our 'catch-all'
heading of South of
Thames - this
fascinating coin
shows what could
either be a horned
god (probably
Cernunnos) or a
druid priest with
long plaited hair
wearing a headdress
with antlers and a
solar wheel between
them, very similar
to the three
wheel-type chain
headdresses found at
the Romano-British
temple at
Wanborough, Surrey,
1985-86 Above is a
die reconstruction
of a complete coin.
Ours is chipped and
repaired, but with a
coin of such great
rarity (only three
others known,
including the one in
the National Museum
of Wales) and of
such great
iconographic
interest (is this
what a British druid
really looked
like?), who cares?
Chris Rudd's
January list.
24.11.08 |
