Aristocrats and wealthy merchants almost exclusively used the leopards, with the rest of the English public continuing to rely on silver coins, notes Daniel Hickey for North Norfolk News. Per the lot listing, the prohibitive cost of minting the coins, their “awkward” denominations and their overvaluation in relation to silver led officials to declare them a failure. The newly sold coin is one of five leopards known to survive today. The coins featured three different designs: leopards (worth 3 shillings), double leopards (6 shillings) and helms (18 pence). seeking to unite the thrones of England and France, acutely aware of the irony of not having his own economically and politically prestigious international currency in gold,” writes DNW in the auction listing.īetween January and July 1344, Edward minted £32,000 worth of gold coins. After France and Italy began producing gold coins in the 13th century, the English monarch decided to introduce gold currency to his kingdom, too, writes Mindy Weisberger for Live Science. The florin is one of a handful minted as part of a failed currency experiment by Edward, who ruled England from 1327 to 1377 C.E. Counting the 24 percent buyer’s premium, the coin’s total sale price was £173,600 (around $228,885).Īccording to a statement from auction house Dix Noonan Webb (DNW), a private collector from the United Kingdom purchased the coin, which carried a presale estimate of £100,000 to £140,000.
Known as a leopard florin, it was minted under Edward III and sold at auction yesterday for £140,000 (around $185,000). “I thought, ‘It can’t be a leopard.’”Īs it turned out, the feline engraved on the 23-karat gold coin was indeed a leopard. “When I brushed off the soil, I saw the hind leg of a big cat,” Carter tells the Guardian’s Harriet Sherwood. He dug down about ten inches into the mud, uncovering a small gold coin. Most had begun to pack up after failing to find anything of significance.Īround 3:30 p.m., Carter’s metal detector pinged. A retired scientist, the 65-year-old had joined 30 other amateur treasure hunters combing over a muddy farmer’s field in Norfolk, England. In October 2019, at the end of a long, dispiriting day, Andy Carter made a startling discovery.
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