About This Coin
A Spanish copper maravedi coin that has been deliberately chiseled, recovered by metal detection expert Gary Drayton at Isaac's Point on the eastern shore of Oak Island during Season 5. Peter Fornetti and Jack Begley joined Drayton in searching the storm-eroded bluffs, where they also recovered a musket ball dating to before the 1850s. Drayton identified the coin as a maravedi, a denomination commonly used by Spanish explorers and pirates in the 17th and 18th centuries, and estimated it dated to the 1700s or possibly the 1600s.
The coin had been deliberately cut, a standard practice across the Spanish colonial world for making change when smaller denominations were unavailable. Merchants, soldiers, and sailors routinely chiseled coins into halves or quarters to settle transactions at values below the coin's face. The practice was widespread from the 16th through the 18th century and is a common feature of coins recovered from Spanish colonial sites throughout the Americas and the Caribbean.
Drayton noted the coin's excellent condition, which suggested it had been buried in soil with no saltwater contact despite its proximity to the shore. The team sent the coin for professional cleaning in hopes of recovering a legible date, though the results of that cleaning have not been reported on the series. Isaac's Point, on the island's eastern shore, is a less frequently searched area than the Money Pit zone or Smith's Cove, and the find extended the geographic range of Spanish-era coin recoveries beyond the swamp and Lot 16.
The coin is one of several maravedis recovered from Oak Island. The first, a Spanish 8 maravedis copper coin dated 1652, was found in the swamp during Season 1. A possible maravedi was also recovered from Lot 16 during Season 5. Together with the 1673 and 1694 English coins found on Lot 16 the same season, the Isaac's Point maravedi contributed to a pattern of 17th-century coin finds that placed activity on the island well before the 1795 discovery of the Money Pit.
Where It Was Found
Found at Isaac's Point (eastern shore, storm-eroded bluffs) — Oak Island, Nova Scotia, Canada.
