Royal Albert Memorial Museum

The Coffinswell Hoard. Iron currency bars at RAMM Exeter. The display read:
"Hoard of Iron Bars. 2,000 - 2,200 years old. From Coffinswell.
This mass of corroded iron was found by a farmer and metal detectorists. Detailed analysis revealed 80 iron bars tied together in bundles placed into a bracken lined pit. Julius Caesar mentioned the British tribes used iron bars as a form of currency. Hence these bars are often called 'currency bars'. They are not money as we know it, but a way of demonstrating quality of iron and a unit of ritual exchange."
[Photo 17/12/2011]