About This Coin
Two English copper coins recovered by Gary Drayton on Lot 16 during Season 5, from the massive spoils pile left behind by Robert Dunfield after his 1965 excavation collapsed. Rick and Marty Lagina joined Dave Blankenship and Gary for a surface search of the lot. Gary recovered two coins bearing the image of King Charles II: one dated 1673 and a second dated 1694, both inscribed with Carolus. The 1673 coin bears a Britannia design on the reverse, featuring the seated figure of Britannia holding a trident and shield, a motif introduced to English coinage during the reign of Charles II.
The coins placed English activity on the island more than 120 years before the Money Pit's discovery in 1795 and were contemporaneous with the seventeenth-century Spanish maravedi found in the swamp. Dan Blankenship, then 94 years old, examined the finds at his home and confirmed they provided hard evidence of an English presence near 1670, strengthening the case he had argued for decades that the island's history extended far beyond the 1795 discovery. Archaeologist Laird Niven noted that the coins, along with the brooch and other surface finds from that season, suggested occupation well before the Money Pit era.
Because the coins were found in Dunfield's spoils pile, their original deposit location cannot be determined with certainty. Dunfield removed at least ten feet of surface soil from a large area surrounding the Money Pit in 1965 and moved tons of earth across the island, including onto the beach at Smith's Cove. The coins may have originated anywhere within the Money Pit zone before being displaced by heavy equipment. Their seventeenth-century dates are consistent with the coconut fibre from Smith's Cove (carbon dated to 1260-1400 AD), the eel grass (carbon dated to 1472-1650 AD), and the wood from the U-shaped structure (dendrochronology dated to 1769).
Historical Context
Gary Drayton
Where It Was Found
Found at Lot 16 (Dunfield spoils pile) — the original 1795 excavation shaft on Oak Island, Nova Scotia.
