Cunobelin ruled from Camulodunum — modern Colchester — for roughly four decades, making him one of the longest-reigning and most powerful pre-Roman kings in British history. Shakespeare's Cymbeline is a garbled echo of him. By the time of his death around 40-42 AD, his kingdom controlled a substantial portion of southeastern Britain, and it was the political fragmentation following his death among his sons that gave Claudius the pretext — and the opening — for the invasion of 43 AD. This coin was being struck right up to the edge of that moment.
Cunobelin ruled from Camulodunum — modern Colchester — for roughly four decades, making him one of the longest-reigning and most powerful pre-Roman kings in British history. Shakespeare's Cymbeline is a garbled echo of him. By the time of his death around 40-42 AD, his kingdom controlled a substantial portion of southeastern Britain, and it was the political fragmentation following his death among his sons that gave Claudius the pretext — and the opening — for the invasion of 43 AD. This coin was being struck right up to the edge of that moment.