Part 2 Historical Context

As mentioned in part one of this assignment, the original owner of the gold coin was my great grandmother, whom I have never met. It was passed down to my grandmother at birth along with several other coins, some larger and some smaller, this particular one being on the smaller end of the spectrum. What I have recently learned about its use is quite intriguing actually. As I was speaking to my aunt about it, she informed me that it was originally used as actual currency. This lead me to answer my question from part one about the confusion of whether it was solid gold or plated. It was in fact, manufactured as a solid piece of gold and not re- cast from nickel. Now, the story behind where the coin, or coins, was procured is still a mystery. As the story is told, my great grandmother was a woman of superior wealth and as such, was well connected amongst the affluent men and women who would have the luxury of traveling to and from Europe, and of course, the United States. It is thought that she received them as gifts or payment for some sort of business venture she was involved in, probably something to do with sugar cane fields, as this was her main source of income, among other trading goods. This particular coin was then passed down to my aunt, with whom I live with now. As I was told, the coin itself was given as part of a dowry to my aunt’s first husband and was then taken back by my aunt when they divorced sometime in the early 1970’s. If one were to map out its journey to my safe today, it would be pretty simple. As previously mentioned, it originates from somewhere in the United States (still exactly unknown) to Jamaica, to Ottawa, and then Montreal and finally here in Toronto. Not much is known exactly what significance it has as to its historical significance, but as I am told, it was simply used as barter and currency all over the United States, and ceased to do so once it landed in the hands of my great grandmother, as it was converted to jewelery.  The impression I have always had of this object was that it was simply some sort of interesting gold coin my aunt had. It sparked my interest once I saw it as part of its “original” jewelery piece in a photograph of my grandmother from the late 1940’s, before it was dismantled and distributed amongst my uncles and aunts, and eventually some of which was given to my mother. It was worn as a necklace, braided with silk and rope, with the largest of the coins resting in the center (collar bone region) of the wearer’s neck. As of late, it has been sitting in a safe in my house, along with two other larger coins. Throughout my life, however, both my mother and aunt wore it regularly, and eventually I began to wear it on a gold rope chain.