A Celtic gold coin unearthed from a field in Berkshire could be worth more than £70,000.

Considered one of the most important ancient coins ever discovered, it was minted by renowned warlord of Iron Age Britain Caratacus – often held responsible for the Roman invasion of Britain.

The historical gold stater will be put under the hammer by Stanley Baldwin Auctioneers at their Ancient, British and World Coins Auction next month.

And it has now come to be recognised as the most significant Iron Age coin from Britain.

The obverse of the coin features an ear of grain with the inscription ‘Cunobelinus’, in honour of Caratacus’s father.

The front depicts a horseman with the Latin inscription ‘Carat’, referencing its creator.

It was found by a detectorist in a field near Newbury, Berkshire, in 2019, and was auctioned the following year for a record £88,000, including the buyer’s premium.

It will be available again online from next month, and is expected to fetch much more than its starting price.

Dominic Chorney, an ancient coin specialist at Stanley Gibbons Baldwin’s, said: ‘While we often sell extremely rare coins at Baldwin’s, it’s unusual to offer something completely unique and of national importance.

‘We’re all excited to be auctioning this beautiful piece of British history.’

Caratacus is a well-known folklore figure, having expanded the Catuvellauni tribe’s control to cover modern-day Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire, as well as parts of Essex, Cambridgeshire and Oxfordshire.

He fought against Roman rule for nearly a decade and in AD50, after eight years of guerrilla warfare, he faced the Romans at the Battle of Caer Caradoc, where he was defeated and later captured.

Despite his defeat, Caratacus was spared the usual fate of a swift death and was instead sent to Rome.

There, he is said to have spoken eloquently in fluent Latin, praising the Roman forces and their victory.

His speech earned him a pardon, and he was granted a villa in Rome for himself and his family.

For centuries, it was believed that no Caratacus coins existed, with expert John Evans describing their existence as ‘dubious at best’ in his 1864 text, The Coins Of The Ancient Britons.

The auction will take place at 399 Strand on March 12.

The coin is expected to attract significant interest from collectors and historians alike, given its historical significance and rarity.

The auction will also feature a range of other ancient, British and world coins, offering a unique opportunity for collectors to acquire rare and valuable pieces.

So, digging up new coins can be financially profitable, as can assessing the value of your current ones.   

A coin collector has urged Brits to check their change jar or risk giving away a fortune.

If you own a 1933 one penny coin, you could be sitting on £140,000.

Records indicate that only six coins of this type were ever produced – with three laid under the foundation stones of buildings and the other three handed to national collections.

However, The Royal Mint says there is a chance of another being made.

A statement from the organisation reads: ‘The 1933 penny is one of the most famous coins from the UK.

‘The Royal Mint’s records refer to six being struck, three to go under the foundation stones of buildings and three to national collections.

‘There are, however, good references in the Mint’s records to possibly suggest at least one more had been made.

‘As this was an ordinary circulating coin, it might have sneaked out into circulation and people would actively look through their change prior to decimalisation in the hope of finding one.’