A penny for your thoughts. In September 2021 during a search on some farmland in Devon, a county in southwest England, amateur metal detectorist Michael Leigh-Mallory unearthed a small, very old gold coin. Leigh-Mallory thought he had something but wasn’t sure what, so he posted a photo of the coin on Facebook. A numismatist from London auctioneer Spink & Son spotted it and advised Leigh-Mallory to record the find with the British Museum. Turns out it’s a “Henry III gold penny,” minted about 1257, depicting the King, complete with orb and scepter, sitting on an ornate throne. Henry III ruled from 1216 until his death in 1272. The coin, an inch in diameter, was struck by William of Gloucester from imported gold from North Africa. Only eight of the pennies are known to exist and most are in museums. Estimated worth: $550,000. The penny sold at auction earlier this year for a total of $872,318, including fees. Now that’s our kind of inflation.

gold coin henry III

Photo: Spink and Son

 

 

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