Quadrant antique gold

Quadrant antique gold

This is a functional quadrant coin which you can actually locate your latitude.

The quadrant was quite simple in its early days and had many functions added after it was refined by surveyors and navigators. The simple method is for you line up one straight side and aim it at the pole star Polaris. Then the weighted plumb string dangling down intercepting the arc would indicate the degree of latitude. A more complicated method is to measure the sun's altitude at high noon and then using a navigational almanac and a little math will yield your latitude during the day. Later it also included deviation information and tangent marks. You could measure the height of something, your latitude, and much more. Used in conjunction with a nocturnal, you could also calculate a more accurate reading of your latitude.