THE R. J. REYNOLDS JOSHUA COIN

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V19 2016 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 19, Number 18, May 1, 2016, Article 24

E-Sylum subscriber Noah Reynolds published an interesting article in the Winston-Salem Journal this week. Here is Michael Breedlove's introduction to the piece. -Editor

Legend has it that when R. J. Reynolds rode into Winston-Salem in 1875 to found the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, he had $500 and a sack of tobacco seeds in his saddlebag. What most people don't know is that he also carried a lucky family coin with him—the Joshua Coin— that had originally belonged to his Irish great-grandfather Joshua Cox. Square in shape and silver in color, the totem was thought to be an ancient Peruvian coin that brought protection and good luck to its owner.

Stories about the coin started spreading locally in the early 1900s as Reynolds began amassing incredible wealth. Not only was the totem credited for providing his family with great fortune, it was also said to protect all those who wore it or shared its luck from harm's way. For a time, the coin was passed down through generations of Reynolds. But at some point, it mysteriously disappeared, causing it to spiral into one of Winston-Salem's most mystifying tales.

Some say the coin was nothing special, simply a piece of silver with no magical powers. Others say it was more of a curse than a blessing, causing both triumphs and tragedies. Some even speculate the coin wasn't Peruvian at all, but was actually one of the original 30 pieces of silver given to Judas for betraying Jesus.

All of this leads toward a tale with lots of questions and not a lot of answers. So, in an effort to explore the coin in more detail, we turned to Noah Reynolds for help. Not only is Noah the great-grandson of R.J. Reynolds, but he is also a coin collector and family historian who's done extensive research on the coin and its history to separate fact from fiction. According to him, to understand the full story of the Joshua Coin, you've got to go back in time nearly 300 years—back to a man named Joshua Cox. We'll let Noah take it from here…

To read the complete article, see:
The Joshua Coin Chronicles (http://m.journalnow.com/winstonsalemmonthly/the-joshua-coin-chronicles/article_3982b892-0aed-11e6-bf26-67cd8411cfa1.html?mode=jqm)