The Holy Grail of Canadian Gold Coinage
The Newfoundland $2 gold coin is one of the most allusive and sought after coins for Canadian collectors and numismatics around the world.
Before Canada gained independence it was made up of colonies. Newfoundland was the first and only British colony to have its own gold coin for circulation.
These small gold coins were intermittently produced from 1865-1888 and had small annual mintages from 2500 to 25,000 in the last year of production.
Actual numbers still left are anyone's guess as many were lost, hidden or melted down over the years. The collapse of Newfoundlands banking system in 1894 saw many of these little coins hoarded due to the distrust people had for paper bank notes and that's when they first became scarce.
The coins are 3.33 grams of 91.7% gold with a diameter and size of a Canadian dime roughly.
Personally I've been looking for one for a few years now but they're incredibly expensive for such a small piece and conditions vary due to their age.
I almost scored one on eBay last year but I got outsniped at the end of the auction by another collector 😤
I have my local coin shop on notice that if they recieve any they're to call me immediately and I also search the internet looking to find one at a price I'm willing to pay. So far my quest has not gained fruit but that's part of the fun of collecting, the search.
Thanks for checking out my post, I hope to one day reveal one of these pieces for Steemit. Wish me luck!
Yo buddy, i’ll ask at my lcs — he’s gotta’ massive hoard!!!
That is a very nice one to acquire. Put it on the hit list!
Beautiful Coin I'll let you know if I see one for sale cheap🙂
Great post, not too many people, including Canadians know that Newfoundland had their own coins, separate from the rest of Canada! Those Newfie coins sure are hard to find, I'm yet to come across one as well! Definitely a rare find!
Great piece of history!! Keep looking, you will get your unicorn...it's all about the thrill of the chase! Good luck :)
I've seen silver Newfoundland coins here in the UK going through junk lots, I didn't even realise there were Newfy gold coins!
That's a very interesting story behind the coin! I hope you are able to get your hands on one of these, @goldenarms! How much would this coin typically cost? I would expect a lot since they are so rare, but it would be cool to see a number for it.
Anywhere from $450-1k depending on the year and condition. Some graded coins are even more
Oh wow, that's a pretty steep amount for 3.3g of gold! But it looks really nice, and has a great story, so I can totally see why you would want it in your collection. Thanks for answering my question, @goldenarms!
Gorgeous rare little guy! Good luck with the hunt! 👍
great story and history ... thanks for sharing :):):)
I know your perseverance will pay off and you will grace the steem community with one heck of a find and accomplishment!