Ancient British coins found in Dutch field in Bunnik

February 3, 2025

Archaeologists are excited about the discovery of the very rare treasure trove which includes 44 gold coins bearing the name of Celtic king Cunobelinus. The coins were most likely spoils of war of a Roman soldier from the conquest of Britain.
The 44 gold coins, known as staters, were discovered along with 360 other Roman coins by two amateur archaeologists using metal detectors in a field in Bunnik, near Utrecht. The staters bear the name of the British Celtic king Cunobelinus, who ruled between 5 and 40 AD in south-east Britain.

Initial analysis suggests that the coins were deliberately buried in a shallow pit less than 30cm deep and kept in a cloth or leather pouch. The amount would be equivalent to 11 years’ wages for an ordinary Roman soldier. The coins’ broad chronological range suggests that they were withdrawn from circulation all at once, consistent with the spoils of the early Roman conquest of Britain under General Aulus Plautius (43–47 AD).

The coins may have been distributed to the army as what is known as a donativum, a monetary gift often given to soldiers in the Roman army as a reward for a successful campaign, according to the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, where the coins are on display.
The Roman coins include 72 gold aurei and 288 silver denarii. They date from around 200 BC to 47 AD. The most recent coins in the hoard, minted in 46–47 AD, bear the portrait of Emperor Claudius.

The discovery was made by Gert-Jan Messelaar and Reinier Koelink in October 2023. They discovered 381 coins. A second excavation by the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands yielded another 23 coins.

The area where the coins were discovered was a place from which the Romans had prepared for their first crossing to Britain. Now it turns out that it was also an area to which the conquering troops returned when they were back on the mainland. “This is the first time that physical evidence has been found of the return of the troops. Apparently they returned with all sorts of things. That is new information,” says Anton Cruysheer, of the Utrecht Landscape and Heritage Foundation.