WOKEFIELD IRON AGE GOLD COIN FIND

IN 2017, four metal detectorists were investigating an area in Wokefield parish, West Berkshire, when they discovered eight gold coins scattered over an area of approximately 30 square metres.

As experienced detectorists they knew that they had found a hoard and that it was probably Treasure, so they reported it to a portable antiquities scheme finds liaison officer, a legal requirement under the Act. The coins were very unusual and were identified as ‘Selsey Two-Faced’ staters, dated to 60-20 BC. Each of the coins depicts a three-tailed horse, a high status symbol in the Iron Age, on one side and a wide variety of faces, figures and symbols on the reverse, including a charioteer’s arm, a chicken and a stylised stalk of wheat or barley.

In the late Iron Age coins were minted by local tribes, but their usage was generally restricted to high status individuals. These gold coins were issued by the local Regini and Atrebates tribes, the Atrebates’ capital, Silchester, being only a few miles to the south. They are approximately 18mm in diameter and each weighs about 6g. The coins are a significant find as very little Iron Age material has been recorded in Wokefield.

After the coins were declared Treasure, West Berkshire Museum acquired them with support from Art Fund, Wokefield Parish Council and Mary Buxey, a former member of the Newbury District Field Club. The coins are on display in the museum as part of the Hoards Exhibition and can be seen again now the museum is reopened on Wednesdays to Fridays, 10am to 4pm.

To read the complete article, see:
What a find! West Berkshire hoard of 8 gold Iron Age coins (https://www.newburytoday.co.uk/news/out---about/31343/what-a-find-west-berkshire-hoard-of-8-gold-iron-age-coins.html)

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