Neil Wilkin, curator, British Museum Question: What do you call
a Bronze Age coin specialist? Answer: Flat broke and misspent,
for there is no evidence from this period of coins or currency
systems, as we know them, in Europe! And yet… a journey through
the Citi Money Gallery begins with a group of Bronze Age
objects. Among them are gold objects from the ‘Mooghaun hoard’
(about 800 BC), a find that has recently been honoured with a
place in Fintan O’Toole’s ‘A History of Ireland in 100 Objects’
series, supported by the National Museum of Ireland and the
Royal Irish Academy. But why are they in the gallery? Their
recent honour gave me the perfect opportunity to explore that
question. The start of our story is bitter-sweet: in March of
1854, workmen in County Clare, Ireland discovered at least 150
finds of what was then described as ‘fairy gold’, weighing
approximately 5kg, mostly consisting of jewellery. The gold must
have poured from the small stone chamber it was found in –
childhood dreams of gold pots and