Esunertos

Esunertos, or Iisuniirtos (fl. 50-30 BC), was a male ruler in Britain in the western Thames basin in the second half of the 1st century BC. He is known only from a few rare gold and silver coins, which provide an alternate spelling of his name – IISVNIIRTOS.[1]

Esunertos Gold Quarter-Stater Coin

Etymology

The name Esunertos has no parallel in contemporary histories for Britain, but is a recorded masculine name from the Roman period of occupation in Gaul. The name has been interpreted as 'mighty as Esos', a contemporary Celtic god.[2][lower-alpha 1] It is not clear whether Esunertos was a friend or even usurper of Commius (or Commios). Nevertheless, alongside Commios, his is the earliest attested name on a British-made Iron Age coin.[4]

Dating

Stylistically, the coinage is similar to Commios, ruler of the Atrebates. After Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain in 55 and 54 BC, he was made a client king at Silchester. Commios is known to have struck coins in his own name from 30 BC.[5][6] The three known coins of Esunertos centre around Danebury Hill Fort, placing his territory around this prehistoric site towards the end of the Iron Age period.[4]

Evidence

In March 2023, Lewis Fudge,[7] a metal detectorist unearthed a gold quarter stater coin in a field in the Test Valley of Hampshire.[8][9] It was reported to numismatic experts at the Portable Antiquities Scheme and the Celtic Coin Index at the Ashmolean Museum. The reading was confirmed as [IIS]VNIRTOS, providing a new inscription in the British numismatic record.[10] Prior to the Test Valley discovery, other coins had been incorrectly identified as unsigned issues of the Belgae tribe.[10]

In September 2023, Spink confirmed that a coin of Esunertos would be sold at auction.[4]

On 28 September 2023, Spink announced that this same coin had sold for £20,400 (including Buyer's Premium), setting a record for any Quarter-Stater ever sold at auction.[2]

Footnotes
  1. The theophoric name is also attested in Continental Europe, interpreted to mean 'having the power of Esus'.[3]

References
  1. Wills, Sophie. "Coin depicting undiscovered Iron Age ruler set to fetch thousands at auction after being discovered in a field". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  2. "A NEW IRON AGE "KING" | Iron Age Britain, Belgae, "Esunertos" (c. 50-30 BC), AV Quarter-Stater". Spink & Son. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  3. L. Markey, Thomas; Egetmeyer, Markus; Muller, Jean-Claude (2013). "The boar's tusk of Istres (Bouches-du-Rhône): a Lepontic talismanic inscription". Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie. 60 (1): 129 (entry nr. 13). doi:10.1515/zcph.2013.008.
  4. "Coin offered at Spink reveals a new mighty Iron Age ruler | Antiques Trade Gazette". www.antiquestradegazette.com. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  5. De Jersey, Philip (2001). Celtic coinage in Britain. Shire archaeology. Princes Risborough: Shire Publications. ISBN 978-0-7478-0325-6.
  6. Bean, Simon C. (1994). The Coinage of the Atrebates and Regni (PhD thesis). University of Nottingham. pp. 238–247.
  7. Trapnell, Oliver (18 October 2023). "Gold coin could shed new light on British history as previously unrecorded king discovered". GB News. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  8. "Name of Unknown Iron Age Ruler Discovered on 2000-Year-old Coin Found in English Field". Good News Network. 2023-09-10. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  9. Leffman, Jim (18 October 2023). "A new king has been added to Britain's history books". The Independent. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  10. The British Museum (10 February 2015). "Record ID: HAMP-9E612E - IRON AGE coin". The Portable Antiquities Scheme. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
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