Coinage to Confectionary: The history of the Chocolate coin at Christmas

When you think of Christmas, what comes to mind? Sleigh bells, turkey, crackers, Christmas carols, chestnuts roasting, and of course chocolate! Everyone has fond memories of waking up on a Christmas morning to find a stocking stuffed full of brightly wrapped treats, from Celebrations to Quality Street, After Eights, and the venerable chocolate coin. A British Christmas tradition, have you ever wondered how the idea of chocolate coins at Christmas came to be?

From Turkish sources describing the tale of Saint Nicholas and his charitable acts, currency has been known to be given as a gift as far back as the fourth century AD. The most well-known of these stories tells of him throwing coins through the window of poor houses that landed in the stockings hung up to dry, inspiring the Christmas tradition of hanging stockings up for Saint Nick and his modern interpretation of Santa Claus.

Chocolate coins specifically became a tradition in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries with the introduction of chocolate to Europe, in which a Hanukkah tradition evolved with the giving of chocolate coins called Gelt. This tradition became popular in Britain in the following century and eventually spread to the chocolate mass production centers of America, which began producing the foil-wrapped gifts we recognize today.

In Britain, chocolate coins have taken many shapes imitating real currency, such as the pre decimal farthing or perhaps more fancifully the famous pirate doubloon. Many families use chocolate coins as Christmas tree decorations and advent calendar treats, and the ubiquitous net bag of gold and silver chocolate coins continues to be a dependable stocking filler to this day.

Countries across the world, from Australia to China to France, enjoy chocolate coins in the yuletide season. Who wouldn’t fancy a sweet and valuable treat?