The Oak Island team has made a discovery that could rewrite history. During their first major dig on Lot 5, treasure hunter Rick Lagina, metal detection expert Gary Drayton, and archaeologist Laird Niven uncovered what may be a centuries-old hammered coin — potentially dating as far back as the early 1500s.
“This is a top pocket find if I’ve ever seen one,” exclaimed Drayton, holding the thin, patina-covered fragment. “It’s too thin to be a milled coin. To me, it looks hammered — and that goes way back.”
Hammered coins, one of the oldest known forms of currency, were replaced in Europe during the 15th century with machine-struck coins. If confirmed, this tiny artifact could be more than 500 years old, making it one of the oldest items yet recovered on Oak Island.
The discovery was immediately brought to the team’s interpretive center, where archaeologist Laird Niven and archeometallurgist Emma Culligan analyzed the coin using an X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (XRF). Their findings revealed the piece was made of arsenical bronze, a rare alloy commonly used before the 17th century.
“This is old,” said Culligan. “By the 1700s, you wouldn’t see arsenical bronze at all. Coins of this size are usually from the 16th century or earlier.”
The find comes just months after a similar arsenical bronze artifact was unearthed on Lot 7, suggesting a pattern of early European activity on the island.
“This is an ‘aha’ moment,” said Rick Lagina. “It’s remarkable. We now have fingerprints that suggest the 1500s. The question is—what does it mean?”
The Oak Island team believes the discovery could provide a vital clue in solving the 228-year-old Oak Island mystery, strengthening theories that explorers reached the island long before the English and Spanish.
As work continues on Lot 5 and surrounding areas, the team hopes that more artifacts will surface to connect these tantalizing pieces of evidence into a larger, groundbreaking story.
One coin may not solve the mystery, but for Oak Island’s searchers, it marks a critical step forward in uncovering the truth buried beneath the island’s soil.
