UK gold coin from days before the Romans

A Celtic quarter stater was found in Ulverston last year. It is from the period of around 115 to 100BC and could have been lost or buried at a time of approaching military and political turmoil. Julius Ceaser was the first to bring a Roman army to Britain in 55 and 54BC but he got no further than Kent and the Thames Valley. It was followed by a permanent conquest begun by Cladius from 43AD which led to the building of forts, ports, towns and farms which were to last for hundreds of years. The Guildhall Museum at Rochester in Kent has a hoard of 11 gold staters which was found packed inside a hollow fossil flint sponge which had been buried in Kent.

The museum display noted: "Staters can be described as coins but are not currency - they do not have a uniform, recognized monetary value. They were a way of storing treasure and of rewarding people."