Antique Gold Coin - Numismatic Value

Modern numismatists are ready to give thousands or even millions of dollars for some copies of gold coin. Their value is determined by rarity, popularity, historical significance, appearance. The highest value among collectors of the world is an old gold coin in its various forms.

Historical excursion

In ancient times, the function of money was performed by cattle, hides, meat, other products, and handmade items. A little later, iron, copper, bronze, silver, and then gold were used in this role. The ingots were of different sizes and samples, the payment created a lot of difficulties.

In the VII-VI century BC. e. first coins appeared. This greatly simplified the sale process. Natural exchange was maintained, coin periods were replaced by non-cash ones, and iron in some countries was valued for more than silver and gold for a long time. But over time, gold money gained the greatest value.

The first precious pennies were minted from pure metal. But due to its softness and plasticity, the old gold coin quickly lost its appearance and weight. When smelting ingots, silver or copper began to be added to increase their mechanical properties.

The first gold coins were used in Ancient Egypt, Ancient China, the Lydian kingdom, Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire. In Europe, they came into use at the beginning of the XIII century. The appearance of gold in the Old World was associated with the development of trade relations with the Middle East, in particular with the Ottoman Empire.

The first ancient gold coin was minted in Florence and had the name "florin". After gold coin fashion spread to other cities and countries. They had a different name on the territory of various states, and even within the limits of one their design and names changed. From now on, only its essence has not changed - the most valuable money in the world.

Transformations of English Gold

The birth of the British "golden penny" fell on 1257. However, this money did not become regular and very quickly disappeared. Historically preserved seven copies.

The old English gold coin was regularly minted during the Hundred Years War with the French allies. She changed her appearance, value and value in the monetary system. Some of the coins exist in a single quantity and are of high value among historians and numismatists.

Chronology of changing images and names of English gold money

The images of gold money changed gradually:

• XIV century: florin (equal to 6 shillings), later - noble (80 pence). They quickly went out of circulation. Very rare and expensive. Florin exists in only three copies. Popular "noble with George" and complete.
• XV century: rayol (10 shillings) and angel (6 shillings 8 pence). Rare and valuable. The most popular is the rayol with a rose.
• 1489: Sovereign (20 shillings).
• 16th century: krona (5 shillings) and pound (20 shillings). “Crohn with a rose” is the most valuable of them.
• XVII century: sovereign, he is also a unit (in honor of the unification of England and Scotland); and under Charles II - guinea.
• 1816: return of the sovereign. Chasing collectibles.
• XX century: the sovereign came out of cash flow and is a collectible coin of Great Britain.

French gold: the complexity of history

Until 1360, France used livres, denarii, su (silver or bronze). The beginning of coinage of gold money also falls during the Hundred Years War. The first old French gold coin was called "franc", and due to the design features (the king is depicted on a horse), it was popularly called the "horse franc". Later, a “walking franc” also appeared.

The monetary system of that time had the following gradation: 1 franc = 1 livres turkish = 20 salts. The named monetary unit periodically appeared for a while, then disappeared again. The French Revolution returned this currency, and it remained a priority until today.

For France, just like for England, the release of the same coin in gold and silver was characteristic. The historical change in the appearance and names of valuable coins was not so saturated, however, the change of eras was directly reflected in the currency.

French Gold Coin History Timeline

The history of gold coins in France looked something like this:

• XIV-XV century: franc. The rarest and most expensive.
• The end of the XIV-XV century: golden ecu (equal to 3 livres). In circulation, "bargaining" francs remained.
• XVII-XVIII century: louis. Ecu comes in silver equivalent. The ratio of money of the Enlightenment: 1 louis = 4 ecu = 24 livres = 240 salts.
• The end of the 18th century, the French Revolution: the return of the franc in the framework of the decimal system of money. The appearance of a napoleondor (20 francs), a double napoleondor (40 francs) and a half-Napoleondor (10 francs). Franks of the Napoleon Bonaparte era are also called “rooster” or “marianne” (the obverse shows the head of Marianne, and the reverse shows the rooster) - this is a very valuable collectible coin of our time. It was minted until 1914. Now issued in equivalent to the euro.
• The end of the XIX century: franc. It is the main one in several European countries (Latin Monetary Union).
• The first half of the XX century: the rejection of the gold standard. However, a currency called the franc lasted until 2002 and the introduction of the euro. Nowadays gold francs are issued only in a collector's version.

Spanish gold: a small change in the "golden" faces

An old Spanish gold coin was born only in the 16th century under the name "Golden Escudo". The existence of gold coins in Spain is characterized by the greatest stability in comparison with France, and especially England.

The chasing of escudos was established during the reign of King Philip II. The ratio of coins in the monetary system of the monarchy was as follows: 1 escudo = 400 maravedi, later 1 escudo = 16 reais = 544 maravedi.

History tour:

• XVI century: escudo, as well as escudillo, which was equivalent to half an escudo.
• XVIII century: golden doubloons (2 escudos).
• Beginning of the 19th century: 1 escudo equates to 40 reais. Later, silver escudo is temporarily the main currency. New copper, bronze and silver money appear: centimo and pessets.
• The end of the XIX - the beginning of the XX century: gold and silver with a face value of 20, 25 and 100 pessets are in circulation.

To date, as a collection of gold money in Spain issued euros of various designs.

Half of the fortune is for precious money

Numismatists buy and collect a huge amount of more or less valuable coin money. A serious goal for the most devoted and passionate remains ancient gold coins. The price of them can vary from several tens of dollars to hundreds of thousands.

The approximate cost of the most valuable gold coins is presented in the table.

For uninformed people, coins are just out-of-sale means of sale, museum exhibits, echoes of history. Only a true passionate collector will say that the soul of the world lives in them, the history of a certain country, people of a particular era. What is a ticket for an imaginary time machine in which you can see the king and queen of medieval France, Spanish pirates, English courtiers and a poor servitor. That they are a treasure not only material, but historical, cultural and spiritual. Antique gold coin - the highest numismatic value among collectors.