Chris Rudd consigns his collection

Two of the gold Bronze Age ring money pieces to be offered by TimeLine Auctions as part of the sale of the Chris Rudd Collection. (Images courtesy www.celticcoins.com)

In September, longtime Celtic coin dealer and author Chris Rudd of Norfolk, England, will celebrate his 80th birthday. He is doing so by selling his personal collection of British antiquities and Roman coins. As he observes: “I’ve had my fun with them. Now it’s time for me to share the pleasure.”

On Sept. 5, “TimeLine Auctions” will sell his antiquities (timelineauctions.com). On Sept. 13, Dix Noonan Webb will offer his coins (www.dnw.co.uk). Both sales are in London.

The antiquity collection may hold little interest for numismatists. It consists mainly of British stone and bronze axeheads, Celtic enameled mounts and Roman brooches. However, the catalog includes stunning examples of extremely rare Bronze Age penannular gold rings.

While Rudd believes these were probably fashioned primarily as jewelry, they also provided a convenient form of portable wealth. It is likely they were sometimes exchanged for goods or services or divine favors. In other words, they served as money. As such, Rudd considers them legitimate numismatic collectibles.

The two illustrated consist of a 4.26 g Torc Type comprising a twisted bar of solid gold tapering to plain pointed terminals. It dates from 1150-750 B.C.E. and has retained its original perfect shape. It is believed to have been found in Sussex in the early 1990s. The second is a 9.92 g Two-Tone Striped Gold Type of the same age. It consists of multiple alternating bands of golden-gold and silvery-gold wire wrapped around an inner core. No find spot is known but it is believed more likely to have come from Britain rather than Ireland.

Note that Britain’s Treasure Act 1996 regards these items as artifacts, not coins. Further details may be found at the TimeLine website closer to the sale.