Celtic Coin of the Dobunni King Corio
This is a 'Tree Type' gold stater of the Dobunni tribe. It was struck circa 20 BC to AD 5 during the rule of Corio. On the obverse is the image of a tree-like emblem known as a Dobunnic Tree, with a pellet below. The reverse bears the name Co[rio] above a triple-tailed, stylized Celtic horse, with a wheel below and other symbols in the field. The Dobunnic Tree's meaning is unclear although corn, ferns and a form of a wreath have all been suggested as explanations.
The Dobunni were one of the Iron Age tribes living in the British Isles prior to the Roman invasion of Britain (43-84 AD). They lived in the southwestern part of Britain that roughly coincides with the English counties of Bristol, Gloucestershire and the north of Somerset, although at times their territory may have extended into parts of what are now Herefordshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire, and Warwickshire. Their capital acquired the Roman name of Corinium Dobunnorum, which is today known as Cirencester. Unlike the Silures, their neighbors in what later became southeast Wales, the Dobunni were not a warlike people and submitted to the Romans before they even reached their lands. Afterwards they readily adopted the Romano-British lifestyle.
Corio was a 'king' of the southwestern Dobunni. No one knows if 'king' is the correct term for their leaders however, it is likely that this is what the Romans called them. The Dobunni rulers are only known from names found on their coinage and the exact order of each of their reigns has yet to be determined. Some of the other Dobunni kings’ names are Anted, Eisu, Aatti, Comux, Inham and Bodvoc.
