Kate’s makes four. Just four of these medallions are known to exist. Only three others, besides Ms. Harding’s, have ever been found in the UK.
In 2007, one of these rare finds was purchased by the British Museum for £1,800. Its value was not to bring Ms. Harding such fortune. Instead, this was just the beginning of her troubles.
The day of Reckoning
Upon entering the museum, Ms. Harding was directed to the lab, where knowledgeable coin experts have the proper tools to analyze artifacts.
She carefully pulled it from her bag and handed it to the museum staff. It only took a few minutes of close examination. The news she received was surprising.
Kate Was Certain It Was a Coin
It was after receiving the news from the museum that her find was definitely not a coin that she began to make sense of what it was exactly.
She was learning that the coin had not been used as currency in the past, but the value it held was even more precious than ancient money.
It's a Piedfort!
Piedforts are rare to find. Unlike coins, only one piedfort of each type is made at a time. They look like coins, and they may have been used as a model for a batch of coins to be minted.
All that is known is that they are approximately twice as heavy as a coin, and the thickness is about double a coin’s thickness. Piedforts may also have been used as gifts for dignitaries or kings.
A Common Misconception
Piedforts are commonly mistaken for coins. A numismatic can detect the difference at once, but if you’re not trained in the study of ancient coinage, it’s basically a coin. Just like a precious stone is a precious stone, no matter how you cut it, however, the cut can add value only a trained eye detects.
After discovering the nature of the treasure, Ms. Harding became more and more curious about the existence of piedforts. She began wondering how and why one ended up in her backyard. She was curious.