Rainbow cup

Rainbow cup (German: Regenbogenschüsselchen, Czech: duhovka from duha - rainbow) is a term for Celtic gold and silver coins found in areas once dominated by the La Tène culture (c. 5th century BCE - 1st century BCE in central Europe). They are curved like a bowl and marked with various symbols and patterns.

Electrum rainbow cup with triskelion.
A hoard of Rainbow cups found at Celtic Oppidum of Manching

The coins were often found in ploughed fields after heavy rainfall, leading to the folk belief that they could be found where a rainbow touched the earth. They were thought to bring luck and had many different effects ascribed to them.[1]

References

Further reading

  • Rudd, Chris (6 September 2010). "Coin of the week (Rainbow cup)". Celticcoins.com. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
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