New homeowners found coins worth $25,000 in a drawer -- and then gave them back. Not the first run of coins, mind you, but the very first one. 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While excavating a Native American settlement in Maine in 1957, archaeologists found something amazing. In 2013, David McCarthy spotted a rare coin in an auction catalog and immediately had a hunch it was the first coin minted by the fledgling United States of America in 1783. A Roman sword, a legionnaire's whistle, Gold Carthage coins, part of a Roman shield and a Roman head sculpture were found on an island in Canada. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! This image provided by PCGS.com/Professional Coin Grading Service shows the front (left) and back of a 1783 plain obverse Nova Constellatio "quint" silver coin. And there's no question that if McCarthy is right, his quint has a fascinating story to tell. Attached is a picture of a Parthian coin from 120 - 80 BC. He searched through the National Archives, but got conflicting answers. Buried in the dirt was a small coin of unknown origins. The “tails” side of the 100-percent copper penny shows two olive branches tied with a bow. Related articles FOUND 40ft … The history of coins is very long and fascinating, extending from ancient times up until the modern days. Houston located the older penny outside a church, where he had permission to look. How much is McCarthy's quint worth? That’s probably the oldest coin ever found in North America. Houston was on a metal-detecting trip with a friend from New Hampshire when he found the coin. Above it reads “one cent” and below is the fraction “1/100.”. From 1781 to 1784, when the young nation was still governed by the Articles of Confederation, Morris served as the superintendent of finance for the United States. He spent the next four years digging up evidence to prove that he had indeed purchased the fabled first "500" quint. March 4, 2014— -- A California couple who found a stash of buried gold coins valued at $10 million may not be so lucky after all. From the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783, until the establishment of the U.S. Mint in 1792, a variety of early American coins were issued by private minters and individual states. These old coins included a series of "tokens" (privately issued coins that circulated in public commerce) struck by silversmith John Chalmers of Maryland in 1783. It was never adopted. The mound is dated at approximately 800 AD. It is the age of this coin that makes it as valuable as it is and is why someone was willing to pay $6.8 million for one at auction. What first caught McCarthy's eye was the fact that the coin, which was unmistakably one of two rare quints, had no inscription on the front. A 2,221-year-old silver coin dug up as part of a hoard is the oldest piece of Roman money ever found in Britain. Roman coins were found in Texas at the bottom of an Indian mound at Round Rock. In the town of Heavener, Oklahoma, another out-of-place coin was found in 1976. Chinese coins have been found in the United Kingdom before. Several private issues of copper tokens as well as experimental coins for the Confederation were also … With the rising price of copper, in the early 1970s it almost cost as much to … The penny is not in pristine condition. When looking for valuables, most hunters set their devices to ignore iron but Houston leaves his switched on because he enjoys finding hand-forged nails. EMBDEN, Maine — Earlier this month, a man with a metal detector found a long-hidden, 222-year-old coin under a few inches of soil outside a church. The stater is a key exhibit in the Department of Coins and Medals of the British Museum, which houses one of the world's finest numismatic collections, comprising about 1 million objects. If McCarthy's evidence is solid, the coin he has was mentioned in the diary of Robert Morris, a Philadelphia merchant who financed the American Revolution and signed the Declaration of Independence. A fuller set of coins was minted on April 22 and forwarded to Thomas Jefferson so a third Founding Father could weigh in on the design. Coin Week writes: "It is believed that these two Quints are survivors of that [Morris system] project, as are five or six pieces of other denominations.". By David Williams, CNN. McCarthy, an experienced numismatist (coin collector) bought the silver coin for $1.18 million. Updated 5:27 PM ET, Wed November 18, 2020 . There are now only three known exam… “I found all kinds of interesting stuff while I was up there,” said Shane Houston, from his home in Charlotte, North Carolina. Then, as he was reviewing the receipts for the steel dies used to make the coins, he found evidence that "two of the dies had been recycled and refined after the first coin was struck," the AP writes. “I don’t want to share the spot — where I might find some more goodies,” Houston said. He wants to return to the same location and search some more next year. This coin is exceedingly rare. Stephen A. Knapp, Senior Pastor at St. John Lutheran Church, Forest Park, IL, and a specialist in late Roman bronze coinage, as a follis of Just think about how many coins are lost from circulation over the years because people have dropped them down the drain or lost them down the back of the sofa. Coins: Roman coins have been found in Venezuela and Maine. It sat on a shelf at a museum for 10 years before anyone realized the importance of their find. Morris' coin was meant to demonstrate a prototype numerical currency system that would be based on the so-called Spanish dollar. "On the reverse of the 1992 Close AM, the right foot of the 'A' and left foot … In 1957, in a field near Phoenix City, Alabama, a little boy reportedly found a coin from the Greek city of Syracuse in Sicily dated to c. 490 BC. ", A week later, he was visited by Alexander Hamilton – who was to become the first Treasury secretary of the United States six years later and who presumably examined the coin himself. The coin was first misidentified as a 12th-century British penny, but upon further inspection years later, English researchers declared the coin to be Norse. “It gets me out of the house, it’s great exercise and I just really love finding these old relics that people have lost or thrown away,” Houston said. It’s the oldest American coin Houston has found in ten years of serious metal detecting. The boy reportedly traded the coin for fifteen cents worth of candy. Mellgren found the coin at the Goddard prehistoric archaeological site, which contained the remains of an old Native American settlement, at Naskeag Point, Brooklin, Maine. The Secret Service confiscated the early specimens until the U.S. Mint admitted they were genuine. It was designed by engraver Robert Scot at the Philadelphia mint, after a painting by New Englander Gilbert Stuart. When you consider that this coin has been around for more than 670 years, it is a wonder that any have survived. New coins have been produced annually and they make up a valuable aspect of the United States currency system. It’s larger than a contemporary penny, more akin in size to a modern half-dollar coin. The “heads” side shows the draped bust of Lady Liberty in profile. Oldest Roman Coin: The silver denarius Roman Republic coin dating from 211BC was found during an excavation in 2000 at Hallaton, Leics. Claudius II, from 268 A.D. The penny was right beside one of those nails, which was masking it — and Houston’s metal detector was giving him the tone for iron. He loves the peace and quiet he finds outdoors. As of now our database consists almost entirely of coins from 1880s-2021, as we wanted to focus mostly on coins that were readily accessible and possibly still in circulation. Today, circulating coins exist in denominations of 1¢ (i.e. In 1957 near Phenix City, Alabama, a small boy found a coin in a field from Syracuse on the island of Sicily, and dating from 490 B.C. More by Troy R. Bennett. Country of Origin: City of Cyme in ancient Ionia … The president of the American Numismatic Association, Jeff Garrett, has pronounced McCarthy's research as "really, really good.". As Houston dug it up from under a few inches of dirt, he immediately saw the 1798 mark on it and knew it was something special. Set to cross the block in the Stack’s Bowers Galleries Official Auction of the Whitman Coin and Collectibles Baltimore Expo is a famously rare New England sixpence… Demas W Jasper from Today's America and The World Beyond on November 18, 2019: If readers are serious about having fun searching for valuable pennies and other coins, get a list showing values for them at any coin store, and enjoy the hunting. “I’d never been to Maine before and I absolutely fell in love with it,” he said, “the scenic views, the people and the beer — and the history. Roman coins were found in Texas at the bottom of an Indian mound in Round Rock. Coins of the United States dollar (aside from those of the earlier Continental currency) were first minted in 1792. Historic coin experts say they have found the first silver piece minted by the US and believe it was likely held by Founding Father — and founder of The Post — Alexander Hamilton. Authorized by Congress, the coin had a value of 500 units in a proposed but later abandoned early American decimal monetary system that would have ranged from 5 to 1,000 units. We are using our database of nearly every US coin ever produced (6,000+ coins) based on year, rarity, mint mark, major varieties, errors and their associated price values to come up with a list of the top most valuable coins known. AP Houston said it might fetch $200 on Ebay but he has no intentions of selling it. The Maine Penny was discovered on 18 of August 1957 by an amateur archaeologist by the name of Guy Mellgren. The museum found that the coin appears to have been minted in western Anatolia in the second half of the seventh century B.C.E., making it more than 2,750 years old. That’s because it’s not the value of the objects he finds that keeps him looking, Houston said, it’s the value of the experience. This image provided by PCGS.com/Professional Coin Grading Service shows the front (left) and back of a 1783 plain obverse Nova Constellatio "quint" silver coin. USA Coin Book has compiled a list of the all-time, rarest and most valuable US coins ever known. The copper penny… Counterfeits abound but usually have the wrong mint mark.In May 2014, a mother in Texas found one while going through rolls of coins. EMBDEN, Maine — Earlier this month, a man with a metal detector found a long-hidden, 222-year-old coin under a few inches of soil outside a church. hide caption. "He compared the beadings on the edges of the different coins, as well as a dent in the eye at the center of the [inscribed] "500" coin and its plain cousin. He said he’ll most likely be back in the spring, when the weather warms back up. I found it on a beach about 12 miles east of Portland Oregon. It was a nuanced case since other dealers claimed it was a forgery. “Honestly, 99 percent of the things I dig up are garbage,” he said. Like a good fisherman, Houston is cagey about just where he found the penny. 2 of the 3 coins were discovered in the River Tyne in 1857 and the third coin was found in the South of England by a metal detecting enthusiast in 2006. Re: Possibly the Oldest Coins Ever Found In North America With a Metal Detector Isn't it amazing what turns up in unexpected places. The mound is dated at approximately 800 AD. It’s a great place.”, Troy R. Bennett is a Buxton native and longtime Portland resident whose photojournalism has appeared in media outlets all over the world. The coins may … Houston later removed layers of green corrosion from the penny with special cleaning pencils, revealing its full design. Year Created: c. 600 – 550 BCE. The fledgling federal government had just started making its own money six years prior, in 1793. The AP quotes the ANA's Garrett as saying the closest comparison might be a 1794 U.S. silver dollar that sold for $10 million four years ago. He methodically convinced his boss, Donald Kagin, that the coin up for auction was the nation's first. But the initial explanation was that mints tended to add inscriptions to the steel dies used to make coins after having engraved the images.". "The day of the 2013 auction in Schaumburg, Illinois, McCarthy sat in his hotel room with his files and air conditioning cranked on high. The earliest issues, thought to date from the reign of Alyattes (about 610 - 560 BC) or perhaps his predecessor Sadyattes - both of the Mermnad dynasty - feature the Lydian kings' emblem of a roaring lion, almost always with a curious knob, often called a \"nose wart,\" on its forehead. The ammunition measured-out at .75 caliber, making it British in origin. It's not just the coin itself, but the story that goes with it that makes it valuable, Garrett says. Maine news, sports, politics, election results, and obituaries. I found a 98 close am .Circulated Hmy Happy Hunting. Ionian Hemiobols. Let’s have a look at some of the most impressive old coins from around the world: ‘The Lydian Lion’ coin ‘The Lydian Lion’ coin is believed to be by many experts the world’s oldest coin. “And with metal detecting, it’s getting increasingly hard to find spots where it’s legal.”. First minted in 1794, the Flowing Hair dollar was the first dollar coin issued by the United States federal government.… 1974 Aluminum Penny. The United States Mint in Philadelphia created this extremely rare coin in 1849 during the start of the California gold… A similar coin, with a Latin inscription that translates "New Constellation," was found in 1860. This most valuable coin list is dynamic and is based upon the few thousand or so United States coins found in our ever growing database (updated: 2021). In an April 2, 1783, entry in his diary, Morris writes of "a Piece of Silver Coin being the first that has been struck as an American Coin. Chalmers minted threepence, sixpence and shilling tokens all in silver. Above her is “liberty” and below is the year. Authorized by Congress, the coin had a value of 500 units in a proposed but later abandoned early American decimal monetary system that would have ranged from 5 to 1,000 units. He thinks other metal-detecting folks who were there before would have missed it. The larger coin has been identified by both Mark Lehman, president of Ancient Coins for Education, Inc., and Rev. But most date to the 17th century when trade between Europe and the Far East was far more well-established. In 1957 near Phenix City, Alabama, a small boy found a coin in a field from Syracuse on the island of Sicily and dating from 490 B.C. In 2013, David McCarthy spotted a rare coin in an auction catalog and immediately had a hunch it was the first coin minted by the fledgling United States of America … Thereafter, Morris writes, the two corresponded on the "subject of the Coin.". 1 cent or $0.01), 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢, and $1.00. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. The copper penny, dated 1798, comes from the first decade of American-minted money in North America. The one McCarthy bought was found about 15 years later and was therefore designated "quint Type 2.". One of the oldest and rarest coins, it’s known as a “Double Leopard” due to the depictions of 2 leopards on both sides of the coin, one where the King sits in between them. On the same trip, he also found an 1818 penny, a full wagon wheel and a musket ball. The evidence all pointed to him having uncovered the nation's first coin," the news agency says. 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