About This Coin
An English copper coin recovered from Lot 32 during Season 9, west of the swamp, in the area where the team had previously found ox shoes, a lead cargo bag seal, and other wharf-related material. Gary Drayton's metal detector hit the target. Rick Lagina pulled the coin from the plug. Gary flipped it, recognised the seated figure of Britannia on the shield, and identified it on camera as English. He described the piece as a heavy, thick copper and called it an early one. The cast attempted to read the bust on the obverse but did not identify the monarch on camera, and no date was read at the time of recovery.
The Britannia reverse was introduced to English copper coinage by Charles II in 1672 and continued under William III, Anne, and the Georgian kings. Without an obverse reading the issue date remains open to any English copper from 1672 onward. Gary drew the connection on camera to the two coppers recovered from Lot 16 in 2017, the 1673 Charles II piece and the 1694 William III piece, citing the similar style and what he called the early character of the new find.
The same on-camera search on Lot 32 also recovered a broken ox shoe and a copper or brass piece bearing part of an inscription or initials. In the War Room the find was situated within the framing presented the previous week by researcher Scott Clarke, who had argued that Sir William Phips and Andrew Belcher hid silver from the Concepción wreck on the island in the late 1600s. The Lot 32 coin's recovery context, a surface find from a known activity zone, leaves its original deposit point uncertain.
Historical Context
Recovered Season 9 (S09E13 Go Big or Go Home) on Lot 32, west of the swamp. Gary Drayton's metal detector hit the target; Rick Lagina pulled the coin from the plug. Identified on camera as English by the Britannia reverse. Monarch and date not read at the time of recovery. No laboratory follow-up later in the season.
Where It Was Found
Found at Lot 32 (west of swamp) — Oak Island, Nova Scotia, Canada.
