Someone used a mystery 2,000-year-old coin to pay a bus fare without realising

A mysterious coin used to pay a bus fare in Leeds is actually rare currency that dates back more than 2,000 years.

The artefact, unknowingly handed to a bus driver in the 1950s, was minted by an ancient Carthaginian civilisation in Cadiz during the 1st century BC.

It has now been donated to Leeds Museums and Galleries after spending decades tucked away in a small wooden chest.

The coin first came into the possession of James Edwards, a former chief cashier with Leeds City Transport, who was responsible for collecting fares from bus and tram drivers and counting them at the end of each day.

Any unusable, foreign or fake coins were set aside – and Edwards would take them home to his grandson Peter as curiosities.

Peter Edwards, now 77, 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.

‘It was not long after the war, so I imagine soldiers returned with coins from countries they had been sent to.

‘Neither of us were coin collectors but we were fascinated by their origin and imagery – to me they were treasure.’

Peter kept the coins safe for more than 70 years, but one in particular continued to puzzle him due to its unusual markings.

Determined to uncover its origins, he carried out research which revealed the coin had been produced in what was once a Carthaginian settlement on the Spanish coast.

The ancient piece features the face of the god Melqart – often likened to the Greek hero Herakles – wearing a distinctive lionskin headdress.

At the time, Phoenician coins were sometimes designed with Greek-style imagery to appeal to traders.

Realising the coin’s historical significance, Peter contacted Leeds Museums and Galleries and offered it as a donation so it could be properly studied and preserved.

He added: ‘The coin always fascinated me because it was hard to decipher where it came from.

‘My first thought when I found out its origin was that I would like to return it to an institute where it could be studied by all, and Leeds Museums and Galleries kindly offered to give it a good home.

‘My grandfather would be proud to know, as I am, that the coin is coming back to Leeds. However, how it got there will always be a mystery.’

The coin will now form part of the collection at Leeds Discovery Centre, which houses thousands of items from cultures spanning centuries of global history.

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