[Edit] @Clawcoins - my apologies, I see you've already posted regarding the same find! From CNN: The discovery of a rare gold coin on the south coast of Newfoundland, Canada, may challenge traditional historical narratives about the timing of European contact in the region, as it predates explorer John Cabot's arrival on the island by at least 70 years. In a press release last week, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador said that the English coin was found during the summer of 2022 by Edward Hynes, a local amateur historian, who reported it to officials as required under the province's Historic Resources Act. The 600-year-old coin predates the first documented European contact with North America since the Vikings, in a region with a 9,000-year-old history of human settlement and rich Indigenous traditions. After consultation with Paul Berry, a former curator of the Bank of Canada's Currency Museum, the coin was identified as a Henry VI quarter noble, minted in London between 1422 and 1427. In the 1400s, the coin would have represented a significant sum of money, valued at 1 shilling 8 pence, or around 81 Canadian dollars ($61) today. Prior to this discovery, a coin minted in the 1490s and found in 2021 at the province's Cupids Cove Plantation Provincial Historic Site was considered the oldest English coin ever found in Canada. As Berry says that the coin was likely out of circulation when it was lost, there is much speculation about exactly how the gold quarter noble coin made its way to Newfoundland and Labrador. The precise location of the discovery is being kept secret to discourage treasure hunters. https://www.cnn.com/style/article/gold-coin-newfoundland-archeological-discovery-scn/index.html Henry VI was King of England, Lord of Ireland and was also crowned King of France (though his uncle disputed the claim). He inherited the 100 Years War and gradually lost most of his lands in France. Henry VI was described as timid, shy, passive, well-intentioned and averse to warfare and violence; he was also at times mentally unstable. He was ineffective and eventually died in the Tower of London possibly killed on orders from King Edward IV. Amazing to make such a find - can you imagine finding not just a gold coin, but a gold coin that potentially changes the historical understanding of your nation? This was of special interest to me as the only hammered gold coin I have is, as it happens, a Henry VI 1/4 Noble 1422-1461 which was affordable as it is damaged (it was holed / on a chain it appears and was pulled off) and NGC body bagged it as too fragile to encapsulate. I really like the history of old Irish, Scottish and English coins, especially the hammered ones, of which I have a small collection, mostly Elizabeth I silver types. Imagine the hands they've been through, the history they've seen! In any case, here's mine -
Looks like it was holed to wear around a person's neck. Probably much later than the 15th century. I seem to recall reading in the early 1970's, in World Coin News, that a Roman coin had been excavated in an American Indian mound.
