Gold Plated Stater - Corio Corio Tree Contemporary Counterfeit

The Dobunni occupied a territory centered on what is now Gloucestershire, and their coinage — including the Corio series — was produced during a period of intensifying Roman commercial pressure before the Claudian conquest. This piece is a contemporary counterfeit: a bronze core with gold plating, almost certainly produced locally to pass in circulation rather than as a later forgery. Such plated pieces (often called "subaeratus" by analogy with Roman practice) are not rare in Iron Age British coinage and were sometimes tolerated, sometimes not — the tribal authority's capacity to police its own currency was limited.

The BMC Iron Age references 3064 and 3103 document genuine examples against which this can be compared. At 3.72g, the weight deficit from a solid gold stater is detectable by hand.