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Six coins have been recovered from beneath the foremast of Nelson’s famous flagship during an ongoing conservation project.
Over several nights in April, a 750-tonne crane was used to remove the Victory’s mizzen, foremast, and bowsprit, as part of the most recent stage of ‘HMS Victory: the Big Repair’, a ten-year, £42m project to preserve the historic vessel for future generations. The placement of the coins under the ship’s mast is believed to be connected to a long-standing maritime tradition intended to bring good luck to the vessel and her crew. Another coin, a single farthing, was discovered beneath the ship’s main lower mast in 2021.
The newly discovered coins were in fairly poor condition after having been squashed beneath 50 tonnes of mast, yards, and rigging for more than a century. However, researchers were able to remove them carefully from the base plate, before cleaning and X-raying them to reveal their identities. The assemblage turned out to consist of five Victorian coins dating to around 1894, when the ship’s 19th-century masts were installed. The final find was not currency, but a Canadian token: it was an 1835 Prince Edward Island ‘Ships, Colonies, and Commerce’ token bearing the image of a ship, suggesting that it was chosen for symbolic as well as practical reasons.
The six new discoveries, as well as the farthing that was found in 2021, will go on display in the Victory Gallery at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Meanwhile, the masts will undergo conservation work before being returned to the ship on completion of the Big Repair, scheduled for 2033.
Text: Amy Brunskill / Image: Royal Navy Museums
