Coins were first used by Mediterranean societies from the late 7th century BC onwards, and were first used in Britain 500 years later. The earliest coins recovered in Britain are gold coins dating from the 2nd century BC. They are known as Gallo-Belgic coins because they were minted by Gallo-Belgic tribes in mainland Europe.

The earliest examples of Gallo-Belgic coins are found mainly in south-east England. It is thought that they arrived in Britain as gifts from high status individuals in mainland Europe. Once here, it is likely that they were used in gift exchange between groups in Britain. Many gold Gallo-Belgic coins were also hoarded together and buried in the ground. Later types of these coins were copied by British leaders.

In the 1st century BC many Iron Age communities in southern England started to produce their own coins, mainly in silver. The distribution of different coin types seems to reflect the different tribal groups in Britain in the late Iron Age. Some tribes inscribed their coins with the names of ‘kings’, providing glimpses of the some of the first named individuals in Britain. After the Roman invasion, Iron Age coins were no longer produced and instead Roman issues became widely circulated.