THE LENHAM HOARD OF IRON AGE GOLD STATERS FETCHES A HAMMER PRICE OF £103,500 AT NOONANS – FIVE TIMES ITS PRE-SALE ESTIMATE!

A collection of 35 gold coins or staters that were discovered during a rally in Kent in August 2022, along with nine fragments of a flint nodule, that has been reconstructed, sold for a hammer price of £103,500 at Noonans Mayfair today (Wednesday, September 18, 2024). The entire collection was expected to fetch £20,000.

Tony Asquith, who is retired and has been detecting for over 45 years discovered the scattered hoard at a spot that is only 35 miles from where Julius Caesar landed at Pegwell Bay in 55BC. Tony was in the saleroom for the auction, but speechless after the sale! He will share the money with the landowner but will not divulge how he will spend his half.

Prior to the sale, Nigel Mills, Coins and artefacts Specialist at Noonans explained: “It was Friday, August 26th 2022, the opening morning of the Joan Allen Detecting Rally – a regular event in Kent, that Tony Asquith, along with many other detectorists were hoping to find something of interest!”

He continued: “Using his Minelab Equinox 800, Tony at first just found some wire and a shotgun cartridge. But then, he got a signal which revealed a brownish coin. He was surprised to recognise this as a Celtic stater. On looking down he saw what looked like a pile of chocolate buttons laid out. Putting on his glasses, Tony realised that they were all Celtic staters!

Mr Mills added: “The staters date to around 55BC after Julius Caesar had conquered Gaul and attempted to invade Britain. They all have a shallow domed obverse with a dished reverse that displays an abstract or devolved horse galloping to the right with a charioteer’s arm above. The coins were concealed within the flint nodule which was formed 90-70 million years ago. The hollow interior would originally have contained mud and the decayed remains of marine animals. 10 other hoards of Iron Age gold coins contained in flint nodules have been found in Britain, but all of them are in museums”

The highest price of the sale was paid for a Gallo-Belgic Stater, that was decorated with a head of Apollo on one side and a stylised horse and charioteer the other. It was estimated at £500-700 but fetched a hammer price of £7,500 [lot 1], while another Gallo-Belgic stater again with a stylised horse realised a hammer price of £6,500 against an estimate of £600-800 [Lot 5]. The nodule realised a hammer price of £4,800 against an estimate of £80-100 [lot 36]. All three lots were bought by internet bidders.