SIX COINS DISCOVERED BENEATH HMS VICTORY’S FOREMAST REVEAL HIDDEN MARITIME TRADITION
Thursday 21 May 2026: Six nineteenth-century coins and tokens have been discovered beneath the foremast of HMS Victory during the latest stage of the ship’s major conservation programme, HMS Victory: The Big Repair.
The find was made following the successful removal of Victory’s foremast at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, part of the £42m project to conserve Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson’s flagship for future generations.
The discovery connects directly to a long-standing maritime tradition in which coins were placed beneath a ship’s mast as a symbolic act, often intended to bring good fortune to the vessel and her crew.
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.
The placing of coins beneath a ship’s mast has long been seen as a symbolic act, often associated with protection and good fortune for the vessel and her crew. Following the earlier discovery of a single farthing beneath the main lower mast, we had hoped there might be something similar beneath the foremast. But to uncover six coins was an extraordinary surprise”
The coins have endured extreme conditions. For 132 years, they sat beneath the fore lower mast, bearing the weight of approximately 50 tonnes of masts, yards and rigging above them. Prolonged pressure and corrosion left them heavily degraded and difficult to identify.
Karoline Sofie Hennum, Conservator (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. Luckily, overall, the condition of the coins was good, and they came away from the base easily. Then using a microscope, we carefully cleaned them with brushes, wooden skewers and tweezers, bringing more information to light. Finally using a technique called X-radiography, we could see beneath the corrosion revealing both side of the coin in one image.
Five of the coins date closely to the period when Victory’s foremast was stepped in 1894. However, one coin dated from 1835 and proved to be a Canadian token, rather than currency, with an intricate image of a ship stamped or struck on it."
The team has now been able to identify the six finds as:
- NMRN Prop 926/2: 1892 one penny, Queen Victoria “bun head” portrait
- NMRN Prop 926/3: 1890 one penny, Queen Victoria “bun head” portrait
- NMRN Prop 926/4: farthing, dated 1882
- NMRN Prop 926/5: 1890 one penny, Queen Victoria “bun head” portrait
- NMRN Prop 926/6: 1890 halfpenny, Queen Victoria “bun head” portrait
- NMRN Prop 926/7: 1835 Prince Edward Island “Ships, Colonies and Commerce” token - Issued in what is now Canada, the token carries the words “Ships, Colonies and Commerce”, making it a fitting object to have been placed beneath the mast of one of the world’s most famous warships.
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.
We cannot yet say why this particular token was selected, but its presence beneath 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 for Victory and the traditions they chose to continue.”
The discovery follows the earlier find of a single farthing beneath Victory’s main lower mast in 2021. Together, the finds suggest that the placement of coins beneath the ship’s masts formed part of the work carried out when Victory’s nineteenth-century masts were installed.
The six newly discovered coins and token, together with the earlier coin discovered beneath Victory’s main lower mast, will go on display in the Victory Gallery at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard from 23 May and will remain on display throughout the summer.
Visitors will be able to see the finds alongside the story of their conservation, from their discovery beneath the fore lower mast to the X-ray analysis that helped reveal their identity, age and origins after more than a century hidden beneath the ship. The display will also explore the long-standing maritime tradition of placing coins beneath a ship’s mast for good fortune. HMS Victory remains open to visitors throughout The Big Repair, giving the public the chance to see conservation in action as Royal Navy Museums protects the world-famous warship for future generations.