About This Coin
A copper coin that has been folded over three times, recovered by Rick Lagina and Gary Drayton from spoils removed from the round feature on Lot 5 during Season 13. Gary noted that sailors and soldiers commonly folded coins as good luck tokens, a superstitious practice documented across European maritime and military cultures.
A CT scan conducted by Emma Culligan and reported in the following episode revealed no visible relief or coin markings on the folded surfaces. The composition, a copper alloy with zinc, arsenic, and lead, placed the object definitively in the post-medieval period but prevented precise dating. Laird Niven and Emma presented the findings in the lab, noting the arsenic content as a marker of older metallurgical practice.
The folded coin was found in an area that had by this point produced six Roman coins, six Venetian trade beads, two simulated French gemstones, ornate buttons, a 14th-century lead barter token, and a cut silver coin. The concentration of artifacts from multiple centuries in a single feature on an uninhabited lot remains one of the defining puzzles of the island's archaeological record.
Historical Context
Rick Lagina, Gary Drayton; CT and XRF by Emma Culligan, analysis by Laird Niven. The Curse of Oak Island Season 13 Episodes 8, 9
Where It Was Found
Found at Lot 5, spoils from round feature — Oak Island, Nova Scotia, Canada.
