Archaeology breakthrough as six 19th century coins discovered underneath HMS Victory

A collection of six coins and tokens dating from the nineteenth century has been unearthed from beneath the foremast of HMS Victory in a major archaeological breakthrough.

It comes as part of the warship's ongoing £42million restoration project at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

The artefacts came to light after conservators successfully lifted the foremast from Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson's legendary flagship during work on HMS Victory: The Big Repair.

Andrew Baines, Executive Director of Museum Operations at Royal Navy Museums, said: "We are incredibly excited to have discovered six coins beneath the fore lower mast of HMS Victory. This find connects us directly to a maritime tradition stretching back thousands of years."

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The coins endured punishing conditions for 132 years.

They were concealed beneath the fore lower mast, supporting roughly 50 tonnes of masts, yards and rigging above them.

Sustained pressure and corrosion rendered the artefacts heavily degraded and challenging to identify.

Karoline Sofie Hennum, Conservator at HMS Victory, said: "To unlock the secrets of the coins covered up by decades of corrosion, they needed to be removed from the base plate, cleaned and x-rayed."

Using microscopes, the conservation team meticulously cleaned each piece with brushes, wooden skewers and tweezers.

They then employed X-radiography to peer through the corrosion and reveal both faces of each coin simultaneously.

Five of the discovered coins date to around 1894, when Victory's foremast was installed.

This includes pennies and a halfpenny bearing Queen Victoria's "bun head" portrait.

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However, one item proved far more unusual.

An 1835 token from Prince Edward Island featuring an intricate ship design and the inscription "Ships, Colonies and Commerce."

Andrew Baines added: "The 1835 Prince Edward Island token is one of the most intriguing finds.

"Its inscription, 'Ships, Colonies and Commerce' - a slogan closely associated with the maritime and imperial trade networks of the 19th century - reflects the world in which HMS Victory served and suggests these coins may have been chosen for symbolic as well as practical reasons."

The six newly discovered artefacts, along with a single farthing found beneath Victory's main lower mast in 2021, will go on public display in the Victory Gallery at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard from May 23, remaining throughout the summer months.

Visitors can examine the coins alongside documentation of their conservation journey, from initial discovery to the X-ray analysis that unlocked their origins after more than a century hidden from view.

The exhibition will also illuminate the ancient seafaring custom of placing coins beneath masts to bestow protection and good fortune upon vessels and their crews.

HMS Victory continues welcoming visitors throughout The Big Repair.

READ MORE: HMS Victory's masts removed for major conservation work

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