The discovery of the oldest known coin of English provenance in the nation by local history enthusiast and amateur archaeologist Edward Hynes last summer was confirmed by government representatives from Canada’s easternmost coast last week. The unique item has also rekindled debate over Canada’s international relations in history.
Hynes informed the regional administration of his discovery in accordance with the province’s Historic Resources Act of 1985. The item was examined by Paul Berry, a former curator at the Currency Museum of the Bank of Canada, who identified it as a Henry VI quarter noble coin, struck in London between 1422 and 1427. Its face value was 1 shilling 8 pence, which was substantial at the time.
Jim Brake, a Canadian archeologist who was also involved with the case, told The Press that it was “not the kind of item you’d anticipate migratory fishers to be going around with.” The coin was reportedly not in use when it arrived in Canada, according to experts.
Furthermore, this quarter noble may have existed 75 years before the arrival of explorer John Cabot in Newfoundland in 1497, raising new concerns concerning the presence of Europeans in Canada. For instance, it is thought that Norse explorers arrived at the coasts of the American continent considerably earlier than English seafarers did. But in 1583, Newfoundland became the British empire’s first piece of land in North America.
Nearly precisely a year had passed since Newfoundland and Labrador made public the discovery of their previous oldest English coin, a Henry VII “half groat” struck in Canterbury somewhere in the 1490s. The Cupids Cove Plantation Provincial Historic Site is where that item was discovered.
“Some artifacts are important for what they tell us about a site, while others are important because they spark the imagination,” said William Gilbert, who discovered Cupid’s Cove in 1995, of that half groat. “One can’t help but wonder at the journey it made.”
With the opposite side of the coin, questions also abound. It does not necessarily follow that there were foreigners in Newfoundland or Labrador prior to Cabot’s mission just because it predates his expedition. The coin might have been brought to these shores as part of a collection by a later settler, for instance.
The spot where Hynes discovered this coin is currently being further investigated by Brake and his team of researchers. According to Brake, Hynes’ discovery will likely be on display for the general public at the Rooms museum in the provincial capital of St. John’s.
“I commend Mr. Hynes for recognizing the importance of protecting Newfoundland and Labrador’s heritage resources by reporting his discovery,” Steve Crocker, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation, said in a statement, encouraging others “to follow his example.”
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