Gold coin found in Newfoundland may be oldest discovered in Canada

A gold coin recently discovered on Newfoundland’s south coast may be the oldestknown English coin found in Canada.

The provincial Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation said the coin was found during the summer by Edward Hynes, who reported it to the provincial government as required under the Historic Resources Act.

Paul Berry, the former curator of the Bank of Canada’s Currency Museum, indicated the coin is a Henry VI quarter noble minted in London between 1422 and 1427. The coin would have been a sizeable amount of money in the 1400s, valued at one shilling eight pence.

In 2021, a silver coin minted in the 1490s was found at Cupids Cove Plantation historic site. At that time, it was considered the oldest English coin ever found in Canada.

Exactly how the gold quarter noble coin made its way to Newfoundland and Labrador is unknown. However, Berry says the coin was probably not in circulation when it was lost.

Research on the coin is continuing and further work on the site where it was found may be conducted in the future.