A gold coin recently discovered off the southern coast of Newfoundland may be the oldest known English coin found in an archaeological context in Canada. The coin was found in the summer of 2022 by Edward Hynes, who reported it to the provincial government as required by the Historic Resources Act.
According to Paul Berry, former curator of the Bank of Canada’s Currency Museum, the gold coin is a Henry VI noble districtminted in London between 1422 and 1427. In 1400 the coin, valued at 1 shilling 8p, would have been a substantial amount of denarius.
In 2021, a silver coin minted in 1490 was found at the Cupids Cove Plantation Provincial Historic Site. At the time it was thought to be the oldest English coin ever found in Canada.
Like exactly the golden one Henry VI noble district arrived in Newfoundland and Labrador is a mystery; however, according to Berry, the coin was probably not in circulation at the time of its loss.
Research into the coin is ongoing and further work on the site may be undertaken in the future.
|According to a press release by Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
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