Coinage of Colonial North America and the Caribbean (original) (raw)
Related papers
Journal of Early American Numismatics, 2021
I would like to dedicate this article to the memory of S. F. Martin. I started writing it two years ago, fueled by his admirable work on colonial coins. I would have really liked to meet him in-person on the occasion of the American Numismatic Society's Summer Seminar in 2020, unfortunately canceled due to the global pandemic, in order to discuss with him on this subject before submitting it for publication. My only satisfaction was to learn, from his friends, that he had time to know, with pleasure, the content of these few pages before leaving us. May they be up to his standard. * Former curator in charge of foreign coins, département des Monnaies, Bibliothèque nationale
The Norse Penny Reconsidered: The Goddard Coin—Hoax or Genuine
Journal of the North Atlantic, 2017
An archaeology and environmental history journal focusing on the peoples of the North Atlantic, their expansion into the region over time, and their interactions with their changing environments. The discovery of a Norwegian Viking penny on 18 August 1957, at Naskeag Point, the prehistoric Native Ameri- can settlement close to Blue Hill Bay, Brooklin, Hancock County, ME, USA (also known as the “Goddard site”), has long been regarded as material evidence for contact between the continents and cultures of North America and Europe during the Viking Age. More recently, however, the veracity and validity of this find have been called into question. To this end, this article considers the penny’s numismatic and archaeological context, and engages with the debate from a Norwegian perspective. There is little doubt that the coin is a genuine Viking penny, struck during the reign of Olaf the Peaceful (the epithet is Kyrre in Norwegian, 1067–1093); what is more complex, however, is whether the discovery constitutes a genuine find or an elaborate hoax. In assessing the evidence, this article considers the penny’s appearance and its relationship to other Norwegian coin finds, both registered and unregistered, and within Norway and further afield. Accounting for the remarkable and exceptional nature of the find, this article concludes that both the penny and its modern archaeological and numismatic context offer plausible evidence that this find is genuine.
East Meets West: An East Indian Coin in the Western Colonies
In 1823, the Ontario House, a hotel and tavern, was built near Niagara Falls, Canada. In addition to providing a location for travelers and tourists to drink and lodge, Ontario House, like many other establishments, billeted soldiers when the need arose. The 2012 excavation of the midden and features of the Ontario House produced a large assemblage of artifacts including ceramics, buttons, numismatics, and military accou-trements. Of particular interest is an East Indian coin, found in the natural topsoil, which can be associated with the 67th Regiment of Foot's brief occupation of Ontario House in 1841. This paper addresses the significance of this coin and associated finds in regards to the global movement of the regiment and the socio-political context of Ontario House within regional history.
UNAN Numismática nº 37, Julio-Agosto, 2020
En las jóvenes colonias norteamericanas de Inglaterra, la ausencia de moneda metálica propia hacía que se generalizara el uso de las monedas de la tierra, bienes o productos como el tabaco, el alcohol o las telas, utilizadas para el trueque corriente, y que se depreciaban constantemente. Esta depreciación arrastraba consigo a la moneda española de plata en circulación, así como a otras monedas foráneas, como los ducatones y otras monedas holandesas, el numerario portugués y el francés, que recibían una estimación en moneda esterlina y coexistían con las emisiones inglesas. In the young English North American colonies, the absence of their own metallic currency made the use of land currencies, goods or products such as tobacco, alcohol or canvas, used for current barter, constantly widespread and depreciated. This depreciation carried down with it the value of the Spanish silver coin in circulation, as well as other foreign coins, such as the ducatones and other Dutch coins, the Portuguese and French coins, which received an estimate in sterling money and coexisted with the English issues.
A New Approach to Solving the Colonial Monetary Puzzle: Evidence from New Jersey, 1709-1775
2014
The market value of colonial New Jersey's paper money is decomposed into its real asset present value and its liquidity premium. Its real asset present value accounted for over 80 percent, whereas its value as money per se accounted for under 20, percent of its market value. Colonial paper money was not a fiat currency. Its liquidity premium was driven by the quantity of paper money in circulation and the method of injection. The quantity theory of money performs poorly when using prices and exchange rates, but performs well when using real asset present values, to measure paper money's expected value.