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Coin used as bus fare turns out to be 2,000-year-old relic, its journey still a mystery
By Andrea Margolis
Published April 02, 2026
A 2,000-year-old coin was unknowingly used as bus fare in England — before officials realized it dated back to the Carthaginian empire.
The artifact, produced in what is now Cadiz, Spain, was recently donated to Leeds Museums and Galleries, according to a March statement from the City of Leeds.
Carthage, an ancient civilization based in North Africa, lasted from roughly 800 B.C. to 146 B.C. — and the coin dates to the first century B.C.
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The relic was collected in the 1950s by a Leeds City Transport employee named James Edwards, who tallied fares from bus and tram drivers at the end of each day and counted them.
Edwards would set aside coins that couldn't be cashed — including foreign or counterfeit currency — and take them home.
A coin once used as bus fare was later identified as a relic dating back more than 2,000 years to the Carthaginian empire. Kat Baxter, Leeds Museums and Galleries' curator of archaeology and numismatics, is shown with the coin. (Leeds City Council)
He gave the ancient coin to his grandson, Peter, who stored it in a wooden chest.
Now 77, Peter Edwards recently revisited the coin and researched its origins.
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"Neither of us were coin collectors, but we were fascinated by their origin and imagery — to me, they were treasure," said Peter Edwards.
He added, "The coin always fascinated me because it was hard to decipher where it came from."
A former transit worker named James Edwards, seen above, unknowingly saved a coin that would later be identified as a rare piece of ancient history. (Leeds City Council)
Edwards donated the coin to Leeds Discovery Center's collection, a free museum that includes "coins and currency from cultures around the world spanning thousands of years of history," the city said.
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The coin may have been collected by a soldier who returned to Leeds, said a Leeds City Council spokesperson, but officials say they "will never know for sure."
The coin, originally gathered during routine fare collection, is now part of a museum collection after its historical significance was confirmed. (Leeds City Council)
Similar coins have been found previously, the official told Fox News Digital, allowing experts to cross-reference and identify this example.
The spokesperson added that a Leeds curator confirmed the coin's identity and provided additional background following Peter Edwards' donation.
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The Carthaginian coin bears the image of the god Melqart, the Phoenician counterpart of Hercules.
"At that time, some Phoenician coins carried Greek imagery to make them more appealing to traders," Leeds City Council said in a statement.
"Other coins of this type have been discovered before, so it was possible to cross-reference," an official said. (Leeds City Council)
Edwards told city officials his grandfather would be "proud" to know that the coin would come back to Leeds.
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He added, "However, how it got there will always be a mystery."
https://www.foxnews.com/travel/coin-used-bus-fare-turns-out-2000-year-old-relic-its-journey-mystery