A Leeds cashier sorting loose change made an extraordinary find — an artifact dating back 2,000 years
Receiving it as a fun, unusual coin to hold onto as a child, the now 77-year-old knows just where it belongs.
You might want to check your purse before you shell out coins for your bus fare after this story. The story goes back to the 1950s, when the chief cashier of Leeds City Transport, James Edward, was sorting out coins received from the day's fares, reported Leeds City Council on March 9. While his job was to ensure no fake or faulty coins made it to the final account, he also stumbled upon an unusual coin one day.
He took it home and gave it to his grandson Peter, who was stoked to receive the little gift. Decades later, he retrieved it from his belongings only to learn that the strange-looking coin was actually a 2,000-year-old intriguing artifact from Spain.
James didn’t think much of it when he handed the coin over to his grandson back in the 1950s. The tiny metal object with an engraving of words and two tuna fish seemed like an exciting find to add to little Peter’s wooden chest.
“My grandfather would come across coins that were not British and put them to one side,” Peter, now 77, noted. He added that his grandpa would hand him some. He kept this coin for around 70 years.
“It was not long after the war, so I imagine soldiers returned with coins from countries they had been sent to,” he recounted. However, the man was curious to know what the inscription meant and decided to dig deeper.
He learned that the back of the coin had an engraving of “Melqart,” a deity of the Phoenician culture, according to Artnet.
Hailing from the Spanish coast, the deity also had a lion-skin headdress to create an impression of a Greek God, Hercules. The inscription in the Phoenician dialect read, “minted in Agadir.” The latter was an ancient Phoenician city that once stood where Cádiz, Spain, stands today.
Stunned by what he had been holding onto, Peter contacted the Leeds Museum and Galleries. The latter were delighted by the find, and like Peter, hope it can be used for learning.
The coin has been donated to the Leeds Discovery Center, home to a multitude of currencies from across the globe. Salma Arif, Leeds City Council’s executive member, noted, “It’s incredible to imagine how this tiny piece of history created by an ancient civilization thousands of years ago has somehow made its way to Leeds and into our collection.”
According to Numis Forums, 95% of ancient coins acquired came from “unrecorded hoards,” or from graveyards and unauthorized digs. The COINage magazine reported that of 91,000 coins studied, a majority were from the Roman culture. 65% were reported as Roman coins, while 23% were Greek.
Today, their prices range from hundreds of dollars to more than $1,000, depending on various factors.
Classical Numismatics revealed that the survival rate of these interesting ancient coins is only 0.5%. Unfortunately, a majority were recycled to make other coins, jewelry, and other items, but these coins hold a vast dive into history.
For instance, this coin, donated by Peter, revealed the economy and the trade factors by the imprint of the tuna, as well as the heritage and mythological practices with the deity. “My grandfather would be proud to know, as I am, that the coin is coming back to Leeds. However, how it got there will always be a mystery,” Peter remarked.
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