They were generally in pristine condition and comprised three staters and 38 quarter staters, mostly depicting a "Celticised" horse surrounded by various motifs, a design copied from earlier Greek coins.
The majority of the coins were attributed to the Cantii tribe, which dwelt in what is now Kent. They went out of use when Claudius invaded Britain in 43AD.
One of the coins broke an auction record for a UK Celtic coin - a gold stater bearing the name of an unknown ruler, Diras, thought to come from an area north of the Thames governed by the Trinovantes and Catevelauni tribes.
The only other recorded example is in the British Museum and bidders chased the stater well above its £3000-4000 estimate to £10,500 plus premium, at which price it sold to a New York dealer.
By Anna Brady
