Shilling discovery could rewrite Canadian history

 
Victoria (Canada) (AFP) - An amateur treasure hunter with a hand-held metal detector has turned Canadian history on its head after finding a 16th century shilling buried in clay on the shores of Vancouver Island.

The 435-year-old coin discovered in western-most Canada has rekindled a theory that a British explorer made a secret voyage here two centuries before it was discovered by Spanish sailors.

Official historical records show the Spanish were the first Europeans to set foot in what is now Canada's British Columbia province in 1774, followed four years later by British Royal Navy Captain James Cook.

Retired security systems installer Bruce Campbell found the coin in mid-December, along with a rare 1891 Canadian nickel, a 1960s dime and penny from 1900.

 

If it is ever corroborated, it could have implications for Canada and the United States, whose shared border was drawn based partly on past European colonial land holdings.

The 49th parallel was chosen in 1818 as the western boundary between the United States and the British colony, but disputes over interpretations of the treaty erupted on several occasions since then.

The last row was settled in 1903 by a joint British, Canadian and US tribunal establishing Canada's boundary with Alaska.

For Campbell, the coin is nothing more than a lucky find that will be hard to match. "It's gonna be impossible to find something older," he quippe