Sale: CNG 66, Lot: 46. Estimate $300.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 19 May 2004.  Sold For $190. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

CELTIC, Britain. Catuvellauni & Trinovantes. Cunobelin. Circa 10-41 AD. AE Unit (2.25 gm). Centaur Type. Laureate male head left, CVNOB[ELI]NI around, beaded border / Man-horse stepping right, blowing horn, TAS [CI]OVA[NIF] around. Hobbs 1968-71; Van Arsdell 2089; SCBC 336. VF, green patina, sharp details and inscription. ($300)

From the Mathew Rich Collection. Ex Classical Numismatic Group internet sale (May 2002), lot 731915.

The style of the head is unmistakably Roman and copied from a denarius of Tiberius. It is possible that when he was a boy, Cunobelin may have been reared at the court of Augustus, which may explain his affinity for Roman imagery. On this and the following coin, we have retained the traditional description of the head as the obverse and the centaur as the reverse. However, it is clear from both pieces that the convex centaur side must be the obverse (struck from the lower die) and the concave head side the reverse.