CELTIC, Uncertain. Circa 1100-500 BC. 'Ring Money' (Gold, 29 mm, 16.27 g). A twisted ring ending in globules. A carefully produced and unusually heavy example. Good extremely fine.


Late Bronze or early Iron Age gold objects such as this one have been found in various forms and shapes, but most notably in the form of rings. They probably both served as personal adornments and as a form of 'proto-money' used in trade and are often attributed to the British Isles, although such rings are in fact attested across all of Celtic Europe. This is a particularly heavy example, made from a carefully twisted shaft of gold ending in two globules.