The origins of a bronze coin that someone used to pay for a bus journey in Leeds in the 1950s have been revealed after more than 70 years.The remarkable piece was discovered by James Edwards, who served as a chief cashier for Leeds City Transport.
His role involved collecting and tallying fares handed over by bus and tram drivers across the city.Whenever Mr Edwards encountered counterfeit or foreign coins among the takings, he would set them aside and give them to his young grandson Peter.
Peter Edwards, now 77, held onto the collection for more than seven decades.One coin in particular captured his attention due to its unusual inscriptions and imagery.After researching the designs, he traced its origins to Gadir, a Phoenician settlement in what is now the Spanish city of Cadiz in the Andalusia region.The coin dates to the first century BC and was produced by the Carthaginians, a Mediterranean civilisation with Phoenician heritage.
The remarkable piece was discovered by James Edwards, who served as a chief cashier for Leeds City Transport | LEEDS CITY COUNCIL
Gadir holds the distinction of being the earliest Phoenician colony established in Western Europe, founded in the 12th century BC.Following the First Punic War in the early third century BC, the settlement fell under Carthaginian control before becoming part of the Roman Empire fewer than a hundred years later.The bronze coin depicts Melqart on one face, a Phoenician deity who served as the principal god of Gadir, Carthage and Tyre.The god appears wearing the distinctive lion-skin headdress associated with Hercules.
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Two bluefin tuna feature on the reverse side, likely symbolising the fishing trade | LEEDS CITY COUNCIL
The coin dates to the first century BC and was produced by the Carthaginians | LEEDS CITY COUNCIL
Two bluefin tuna feature on the reverse, likely symbolising the fishing trade that was vital to Gadir’s economy.”Neither of us were coin collectors but we were fascinated by their origin and imagery to me they were treasure,” Mr Edwards said.”My grandfather would come across coins which were not British and put them to one side, and when I went to his house, he would hand me a few.”The mystery of how such an ancient artefact ended up in a Leeds bus driver’s till remains unsolved.
The bronze coin depicts Melqart on one face, a Phoenician deity who served as the principal god of Gadir | LEEDS CITY COUNCIL
“It was not long after the war, so I imagine soldiers returned with coins from countries they had been sent to,” Mr Edwards suggested.He has now donated the coin to Leeds Museums and Galleries, where it will join their existing collection of ancient currency.Kat Baxter, the institution’s curator of archaeology and numismatics, verified that the coin is approximately 2,000 years old and originated in Gadir.”My grandfather would be proud to know, as I am, that the coin is coming back to Leeds,” the 77-year-old said.”However, how it got there will always be a mystery.”Leeds City Councillor Salma Arif said: “Museums like ours are not just about preserving objects, they’re also about telling stories like this one and inspiring visitors to think about the history that’s all around us, sometimes in the most unlikely of places.”