Multiple 19th century coins uncovered under HMS Victory mast after being put there for ‘good fortune’
A fascinating glimpse into maritime superstition was revealed aboard HMS Victory when six 19th-century coins and tokens were unearthed under the battleship’s foremast.
The discovery took place during the final stage of a decade-long, £42 million restoration in which a 750-tonne crane meticulously removed the mizzen, foremast and bowsprit from Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson’s iconic flagship at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.
Environmentalists made the discovery after the masts were removed, revealing coins traditionally placed there to bring good luck to the ship and its crew.
Andrew Baines, Executive Director of Museum Operations at Royal Navy Museums, said: “We are incredibly excited to have discovered six coins under the lower forward mast of HMS Victory. This find connects us directly to a maritime tradition going back thousands of years.”
“Putting a coin under a ship’s mast has long been considered a symbolic act and is often associated with protection and good luck for the ship and its crew.
“Following the earlier discovery of the single penny under the main submast, we had hoped there might be something similar under the foremast. But uncovering six coins was an extraordinary surprise.”
Five of the coins date from the period when the foremast was minted in 1894, when the ship’s original wooden masts were replaced with wrought iron versions.
The sixth coin was identified as a coin from Prince Edward Island, Canada, dated 1835, stamped with the image of a ship.
Mr Baines said: “The 1835 Prince Edward Island coin is one of the most intriguing finds. The inscription ‘Ships, Colonies and Commerce’, a motto closely associated with the maritime and imperial trading networks of the 19th century, reflects the world in which HMS Victory served and suggests that these coins may have been chosen for both symbolic and practical reasons.”
“We cannot yet say why this token was chosen, but its presence below the foremast adds another layer to the story.
“Hidden from view for more than a century, these objects nevertheless speak directly to the people who cared about Victory and the traditions they chose to uphold.”
HMS Victory conservator Karoline Sofie Hennum said all of the coins had been severely damaged by the long-term pressure of the 50-tonne mast and the corrosion that had occurred over the 132 years since they were placed there.
He said: “To unlock the secrets of the coins, which were shrouded in decades of corrosion, they had to be removed from the base plate, cleaned and x-rayed.
“Fortunately, overall the coins were in good condition and moved away from the base easily.
“We then used a microscope to carefully clean them with brushes, wooden skewers and tweezers, bringing more information to light.
“Finally, using a technique called X-radiography, we were able to see underneath the corrosion, revealing both sides of the coin in a single image.”
The five coins consist of three one-penny pieces featuring a “bun-head” portrait of Queen Victoria, two dated 1890 and one dated 1892, a halfpenny dated 1890 and a farthing dated 1882.
They will be on display in the Victory Gallery at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard from 23 May.
HMS Victory, the world’s oldest commissioned warship, was Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar and was fatally shot by a French sharpshooter on the ship’s quarter deck on 21 October 1805.
Victory was first floated in Chatham in 1765, but by the 1920s it was in poor condition and was moved to dry dock in Portsmouth, Hampshire, in 1922.
A pier structure will now surround the ship and will remain in place until conservation work is completed in 2033.
