Mystery of Henry VI quarter noble found in Canada

A quarter noble of Henry VI was found by Canadian detectorist Edward Hynes this summer on the south coast of Newfoundland. It is the oldest known English coin found in an archaeological context in Canada. As It was minted in London between 1422 and 1427 it is something of a mystery as to how it arrived there. It predates explorer John Cabot’s arrival on the island by at least 70 years before any documented European contact with North America since the Vikings.

There are various unconfirmed tales of European contact including one from the English Channel Islands about a ship being blown off course in the late 15th century into a strange land full of fish. Provincial archaeologist Jamie Brake said “There’s been some knowledge of a pre-16th century European presence here for a while, you know, excluding Norse and so on. The possibility of perhaps a pre-16th century occupation would be pretty amazing and highly significant in this part of the world“