Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you.
Posted on 03/10/2026 4:53:31 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
James Edwards, chief cashier for Leeds Transport Company in the 1950s, put aside any fake or foreign coins he found when gathering fares from the city's bus and tram drivers, before passing them to his grandson Peter.
Peter, now 77, kept the coins safe for more than 70 years and has now discovered one of the collection is so old that Jesus hadn't even been born when it was minted.
He found that the small coin was made in the 1st Century BC by the Carthaginians, an ancient Mediterranean civilisation with Phoenician roots, in Cádiz, Spain.
On one side it bears the face of the god Melqart, resembling the Greek hero Herakles and wearing his famed lionskin headdress.
Some Phoenician coins of that time were inscribed with Greek imagery to make them more appealing to traders.
Peter contacted Leeds Museums and Galleries after finding out about the coin's origin and donated it to the collection of ancient currencies.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
|
|
Click here: to donate by Credit Card Or here: to donate by PayPal Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794 Thank you very much and God bless you. |
Thanks for the link!
Ah yes, the god Melqart. We all know melqart.
You know I haven’t had my tea this morning when I read this headline and interpreted it as people from 2000 years ago used this coin to get on the bus.
Any guess what it is worth?
Your take is a pretty good tale in itself.
That is a heck of a story. If it was worth anything the UK government would confiscate it because it was used to pay the fare of a municipal bus.
It always surprises me when I read/hear these stories of people who find various treasure troves and come forward.
People need to STFU and keep it to themselves.
There are always short videos on YouTube about people who find things buried in the backyard or in the walls of some house they bought. Then they contact the previous owner about the gold coins they found buried in the backyard. Really?
How about finders keepers?
“It will sit on the shelf for a while. I have to pay for an auction. It might be worth thousands, but I can go tree-fiddy. “—Pawn Shop Guy
I went to school with Mel. That was the 70s, and he was freaking out about the country’s possible conversion to the metric system.
Was this some kind of timewarp flashback or something?
Two gods, Melqart the Forgotten and Crom the Utterly Indifferent, walk into a bar.
Melquart says “I haven’t been here in so long no one knows me anymore. Can you pick up the tab?”
Crom: “Whatever.”
I’m guessing world wide there are millions of coins in museums and private collection. Nice story of the use and Peter’s observation of the coin.
😆
It was their first ride in something that wasn’t being pulled by an animal.
Dunno, north of $4000?
Those have to be bite marks.
Scratch that. Under $1000.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
