Coming across something that could be worth several thousands of dollars as a college student is a wonderful windfall.
Perhaps it could get her into a flat, or maybe go towards a car. It’s a big deal.
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.
Overjoyed
With the details surrounding the possible sum circling through her mind, she became excited. It was thrilling to think she had dug up her very own treasure.
It had been hers all these years, and so she couldn’t help thinking about the payout.
The History of the Piedfort
The value of her find is great, even if historians are not quite certain of the piedfort’s purpose. While the medallion of precious metal may have been used for minting purposes as a pattern, they also may have been used as markers in specialized counting machines similar to the abacus. Numismatics know that piedforts were first determined to exist in France and Great Britain during the Middle Ages.
The very first piedforts are dated back to the 12th century. It makes sense that coin collecting is called “the hobby of kings” because rare piedforts in a kingdom’s coinage were sometimes used as gifts of diplomacy to visiting kings or other nobility. The gift signaled political overtures that became so significant a formal code was adopted in 1355 France that defined those who were entitled to the gift of the piedfort. It came into the language as two words, “pied fort.” It’s loosely translated to “heavily weighted.”