Gold coin discovered in Newfoundland could be oldest English coin in Canada | CBC News (2024)

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Gold coin discovered in Newfoundland could be oldest English coin in Canada | CBC News? ›

A gold coin discovered on Newfoundland's south coast could rewrite the history books on the European presence in the region. The coin, a quarter noble

Gold staters from Lydia were first coins in the world

The earliest coins of any on the planet are believed to date back to approximately the second half of the 7th century BC, during the reign of King Alyattes, who was in power from 619 to 560 BC.

We are often asked what is the rarest Newfoundland coin. It is in fact whats called a 1871 mule 10 cents, which means it has an obverse of a Newfoundland 10 cent piece and a reverse of a 1871 Canadian 10 cent. If you can find one we'll pay you upwards of $100,000.

It is generally accepted that gold coins were first produced more than 2000 years ago - during the 6th Century BC in Lydia; an iron-age kingdom of western Asia Minor that is now part of Western Turkey.

The British pound is the world's oldest currency still in use at around 1,200 years old. Dating back to Anglo-Saxon times, the pound has gone through many changes before evolving into the currency we recognise today. The British pound is both the oldest and one of the most traded currencies​ in the world.

Created over 2,700 years ago, but now located in the British Museum, is the Lydian Lion, the oldest coin in the world.

1849 Double Eagle Gold Coin

The one remaining specimen is carefully preserved at National Numismatic Collections at the Smithsonian Institution. The 1849 Double Eagle is currently the rarest and most valuable coin in the world, with an estimated value of around $20 million.

The coin is a Byzantine histamenon nomisma. These were introduced in Byzantium around 960 AD in what was then the eastern part of the Roman Empire. One side of the coin is stamped with an image of Christ holding the Bible. On the other side, the two emperors Basil II and Constantine VIII are most likely depicted.

The Fugio cent, also known as the Franklin cent, is the first official circulation coin of the United States. Consisting of 0.36 oz (10 g) of copper and minted dated 1787, by some accounts it was designed by Benjamin Franklin.

That coin, a half groat found at the Cupids Cove Plantation provincial historic site, dated to the 1490s. The coin was discovered last summer on a beach, where it had waited under sand and salt water for five centuries.

What is the rarest Canadian coin? ›

The 1911 Canadian Silver Dollar is considered to be the Holy Grail of Canadian coins. While three coins exist, only one lives in the outside world, available for collectors.

In 1865, Newfoundland changed over to decimal currency following the footsteps of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Pattern coins were issued in 1864, as were specimen cents. Newfoundland was the only British North American colony to have its own gold coin (though the Ottawa mint also produced gold sovereigns).

The earliest known English coins are gold pieces, modelled on contemporary Merovingian Frankish coinage, and consisting largely of tremisses: one third of a gold solidus, originally weighing 4.5g, but in the Anglo-Saxon context apparently based on a revised standard of 3.9g implemented in Gaul from around the 580s.

The 1933 Saint-Gaudens $20 Gold Double Eagle is considered the most valuable gold coin in the world. Minted in the United States, this coin holds a face value of $20. However, none of the coins were ever officially in circulation. Indeed, the vast majority were melted down and only 13 known specimens still exist.

Lydian Slater or Lydian Lion

Produced in the Kingdom of Lydia in modern-day Turkey around 600 B.C., the Lydian slater, also known as the Lydian Lion due to its depiction of a lion, is the oldest known coin in existence.

The British pound, officially known as the pound sterling, is the oldest currency still in use today and has a history that spans over 1,200 years.

The Mesopotamian civilization developed a large-scale economy based on commodity money. The shekel was the unit of weight and currency, first recorded c. 2150 BC, which was nominally equivalent to a specific weight of barley that was the preexisting and parallel form of currency.