St Neots Museum is opening on May 18 with a new exhibition that features Celtic coins form the Kimbolton coin hoard.



The museum, which closed on Christmas Eve, but reopened its shop on April 12, will be displaying the 2,000-year-old coins which were minted by the Corieltauvi tribe and mostly date from 100BC to 40AD.

The hoard of 68 coins was discovered close to the village of Kimbolton by a metal detectorist in late 2010, and subsequently identified as Iron Age ‘stater’ coins by the British Museum. They were declared Treasure under the Treasure Act of 1996; due to this, for security reasons, the museum is only able to display five of thee coins permanently.

They are described as gold, but are, in fact, a mix of copper. gold and silver and have abstract designs.

The Celts worshipped the sun and often used the symbol of the wheel to represent the sun god in their artwork. The horse was also worshipped and was very important to the Celts as they were used by elite warriors to ride into battle. The curving lines of horses can still be seen on the coins.

You can see the coin collection at the museum, in New Street, from May 18-June 6.