Newfoundland Gold... anyone have any of these to share or interesting history about this coin?
anablep
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Picked this up at my local coin show on LI today. I've never come across one before. Any additional information about this other than its 10,000 first-year mintage from London, and the only gold coin issued by a colony. I thought it was quite special and I'd like to submit it to our hosts. I'm wondering what you'd guess for the grade. Thanks for looking.
Always looking for attractive rim toned Morgan and Peace dollars in PCGS or (older) ANA/ANACS holders!
"Bongo hurtles along the rain soaked highway of life on underinflated bald retread tires."
~Wayne
"Bongo hurtles along the rain soaked highway of life on underinflated bald retread tires."
~Wayne
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I know exactly what it is. It is a $2 Newfoundland (NFLD) gold piece. NFLD minted $2 gold coinage intermittently from 1865 through 1888 for a total of eight issues. Seven of the eight were struck in London and one was struck at the Heaton Mint (Birmingham). The entire cumulative mintage of the series is just a hair under 100,000 pieces. This series of coins was popular in eastern Canada and even in England during the time of issue.
Some of the coins are typically easy enough to find and this includes the 1865, 1870 and all issues from 1881 and after. The 1872 can be tough, but the 1880 is a true bear to find. This is especially true if you want a problem-free example with any sort of meat on it. Aside from confirming authenticity for a future sale, I don't know there is any reason to submit that coin to PCGS. I have a complete set of these coins. Below is my 1865-
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
It was the only gold coin issued by a Canadian colony - assuming we're not including the British Columbia patterns. Other colonies in the British Empire issued gold coins in the 1800s, most notably Australia and India.
The triple-denomination - 2 dollars, 200 cents and 100 pence - is unusual, and also reflects the unusual basis for Newfoundland's colonial currency. Unlike the other Canadian colonies (except for Nova Scotia), which pegged their dollars to the US dollar so that 1 British pound equalled $4.86 and 2/3 of a cent, on Newfoundland the British pound equalled exactly $4.80 Newfoundland currency. This nice-round-number arrangement was made so that British halfpenny coins could circulate in the colony as 1 cent coins, and other British coinage could continue to circulate at not-horribly-inconvenient face values (a penny would be 2 cents, a sixpence would be 12 cents, a shilling 24 cents, and so forth) while they waited for the colonial dollar-based coinage to be struck and shipped.
This exchange rate lasted until the banking collapse of 1894, after which the Newfoundland dollar was revalued to be on par with the Canadian dollar, where it remained until unification with Canada. By which time the 2 dollar coin had ceased production.
The 1882 issue of coins is also significant in that they were struck by the Heaton Mint, Birmingham, bearing their H mintmark - this was the only time any gold coins for any British colony or dominion was ever struck by one of the private contract mints.
Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations"
Apparently I have been awarded one DPOTD.
A friend of mine, the late Dr. Harvey Richer, published a good book on these in 2017. You can still find them on the secondary market.
abebooks.com/Gold-Coins-Newfoundland-Came-Possess-Spectacular/31616673793/bd
http://www.victoriancent.com
I have that book and read it through completely. If you are interested in the series then it is definitely something to get and read.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
RIP Harvey. Came here to say the same.
Thank you everyone! If I get that book, and it looks like I probably will, I may have to make this series a new collection...
"Bongo hurtles along the rain soaked highway of life on underinflated bald retread tires."
~Wayne
here is one of my NFL gold pieces.
there is an 1880 for auction @ Katz
https://katzauction.com/lots?to_page=1&auction_id=150&utm_source=Verified+Users+Katz+Auction+26/03/2025&utm_campaign=ab025192fd-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_04_04_09_33_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-5284e0b3bc-126530547&search=canada#898468
The 1880 is a true beast of a coin. If you build this set then expect to take longer than you hoped to find a nice one and then to pay more than you wanted to obtain it. Here i mine-
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
tomB
do you have a grade on yours?
Re my 1880
the images were taken about 15+ years ago.
it still remains in its holder.
Do you think I should release it and take new images and have it re-graded?
H
Mine is an AU58. I guess the easiest path for new outside images of your coin might be to reach out to one of the many quality forum photographers, but given the current tariff spat between the US and Canada I don't know if Customs parcels would be looked at more thoroughly. I write this because I don't know if you are based in the US or Canada. If you try the regrade option at NGC they have a photography department now, if I recall correctly, or if you go the PCGS route you could attempt a crossover and use their TrueView service.
Regardless, you have a very tough coin and I wish you well with it.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
Those are nice pieces.
Are most $2 in AU or is that the most collectible and cost-efficient grade range?
I ordered the book on Amazon yesterday.
"Bongo hurtles along the rain soaked highway of life on underinflated bald retread tires."
~Wayne
Always liked these, but wish the Mint could have been a little more imaginative with the reverse design.