18 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists in eastern Newfoundland unearth the oldest English coin ever found in Canada

Archaeologists in eastern Newfoundland have unearthed a rare two-penny piece minted between 1493 and 1499 more than 520 years ago. The silver half-groat is the oldest English coin ever found in Canada.

The currency, known as a half groat, dates from Henry VII, England’s first Tudor ruler, who reigned from 1485 until 1509. Cupids Cove Plantation Provincial Historic Site, where English trader John Guy built a settlement in 1610, was the site of the discovery. The artifact was discovered near what would have been a fortified settlement’s bastion.

The rare silver coin – around the size of a US nickel and just smaller than a 10p coin.

A better-preserved example of a Henry VII half-groat Public domain via Metropolitan Museum of Art
A better-preserved example of a Henry VII half-groat Public domain via Metropolitan Museum of Art

An Elizabethan coin, dated 1560-1561, was discovered on the same spot in 2001. At the time, the piece was thought to be the earliest English currency ever discovered in Canada. This recently recovered coin is around 60 years old and would have been in circulation for at least 111 years before being lost at Cupids.

“Some artifacts are important for what they tell us about a site, while others are important because they spark the imagination. This coin is definitely one of the latter. One can’t help but wonder at the journey it made, and how many hands it must have passed through from the time it was minted in Canterbury until it was lost in Cupids sometime early in the 17th century. This is a major find and I am proud of my team for all their hard work. We look forward to the next great discovery.” says archaeologist William Gilbert, who discovered the site in 1995 and continues to supervise digs there today, in a statement.

Steve Crocker, Newfoundland’s Minister of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation, adds, “The historical significance of the Cupids Cove Plantation Provincial Historic Site has long been known and its value to the local tourism industry is proven. It is incredible to imagine that this coin was minted in England and was lost in Cupids over a hundred years later. It links the story of the early European exploration in the province and the start of English settlement.”

Research on the coin is ongoing. It is expected that it will go on display at the Cupids Cove Plantation Provincial Historic Site in time for the opening of the 2022 tourist season.

Newfoundland Labrador Canada

Related Articles

Hidden Archaeological Treasures from Cologne Cathedral

25 January 2024

25 January 2024

An area of around 4,000 square meters (43,055 square feet) is being discovered beneath the Cologne Cathedral, the largest Gothic...

Archaeologists in northern Spanish have discovered what they believe to be the oldest Basque language text

15 November 2022

15 November 2022

Archaeologists have discovered what they believe to be the oldest Basque language text, on  Irulegi archaeological site, near the Aranguren...

Recent excavations reveal the complete water conservancy system of the nearly 5000-year-old Liangzhu Ruins

26 November 2024

26 November 2024

In recent excavations around the Liangzhu Ruins in east China’s Zhejiang Province, researchers have discovered about 20 ancient dams. Seven...

3500-year-old menhir discovered in Mahbubabad, India

15 March 2022

15 March 2022

Six feet in height stone, also called a menhir, was found on the roadside of Ellarigudem, a hamlet of Beechrajupally...

Lost medieval road thought to have been used by famous Scottish king Robert the Bruce found

27 June 2021

27 June 2021

Excavating a hill considered to have played a critical part in the Battle of Bannockburn, archaeologists discovered a forgotten medieval...

Archaeologists in Peru discover a mummy tied with 800-year-old ropes

28 November 2021

28 November 2021

On Peru’s central coast, archaeologists discovered a mummy estimated to be at least 800 years old. The mummy’s body was...

The 20-million-year-old fossil of a sea creature in the ancient city of Tyana may have been used as a means of payment

22 October 2021

22 October 2021

During the ongoing excavations in the ancient city of Tyana in the Kemerhisar district of Niğde, a 20-million-year-old fossil thought...

Archaeologists Discovered a New Pyramid Resembling Teotihuacán in Tikal

17 April 2021

17 April 2021

Researchers discovered a new pyramid complex in the Tikal in Guatemala. About 65 km south of El Mirador in the...

A Trove of ‘Exceptional’ stunningly preserved bronze statues found at an Ancient Thermal Spa in Tuscany, Italy

10 November 2022

10 November 2022

A group of Italian archaeologists made the discovery of 24 well-preserved bronze statues from an ancient thermal spring in Tuscany....

World’s oldest wooden structure ‘476,000 years old’ discovered in Zambia

20 September 2023

20 September 2023

An ancient wooden structure found at Kalambo Falls, Zambia—dated to about 476,000 years ago—may represent the earliest use of wood...

Archaeologists Find the Missing Link of the Alphabet

15 April 2021

15 April 2021

Researchers believe that Tel Lachish pottery is the oldest of its kind found in the region, and could explain how...

Kurt Tepesi: The Silent Sentinel in the Shadows of Göbeklitepe and Karahan Tepe – Unearthing the Forgotten Sister

31 May 2025

31 May 2025

In the arid plains of southeastern Anatolia, a quiet giant slumbers. While Göbekli Tepe has dazzled archaeologists and the global...

Rare waka unearthed from New Zealand River, after being hidden for 153 years

16 June 2023

16 June 2023

A waka -the traditional canoe of the Maori people- believed to be over 150 years old has been salvaged from...

Ancient Footprints Offer Evidence Humans Wore Shoes 148,000 Years Ago

12 September 2023

12 September 2023

A new analysis of ancient footprints in South Africa suggests that the humans who made these tracks might have been...

A 4000-Year-Old Seal Found in the prehistoric coastal site of Kalba on the Gulf of Oman

5 April 2024

5 April 2024

Archaeologists discovered a Gulf-type seal made of soft stone dating to the end of the third millennium BC at Kalba,...