Oak Island: A Hammered Coin, Early English Pottery, and a Mysterious Feature on Lot 5

Oak Island’s Lot 5 — a parcel long closed to the public and largely untouched by modern excavation — has rapidly become one of the most significant areas of investigation in the island’s recent history. This week, Rick Lagina, metal-detection specialist Gary Drayton, and archaeologist Laird Niven began their first full exploration of the lot since its purchase, immediately uncovering finds that could rewrite the timeline of activity on Oak Island.

A Long-Awaited Opportunity

For decades, Lot 5 was owned and guarded by the late Robert Young, a meticulous researcher who believed the land held crucial clues to the island’s mystery. Now, with the area finally accessible, the team feels a renewed responsibility.

“When we take down that sign, it becomes our responsibility to carry on Robert’s work,” Rick says, stepping onto the property. Drayton echoes the excitement: “This is like being handed the keys to the family car at sixteen.”

Armed with modern detection equipment unavailable to Young, the team moves deeper into the lot, quickly locating multiple metal signals.

A Hammered Coin Hidden in the Earth

It doesn’t take long for Gary to lock onto a promising target. Digging through the rocky soil, he lifts a thin, patinated object from the ground. His hands shake.

“That’s a cooked coin,” he says breathlessly. “And that ain’t no mill coin, mate. Too thin. Looks like a hammered coin — and that goes way back.”

Hammered coins — created by striking metal blanks between engraved dies — were used extensively until machine-minted currency replaced them in Europe in the 15th century. This technique dates back thousands of years, making any hammered coin potentially hundreds, if not thousands, of years old.

The coin is bagged with care and sent directly to the island’s laboratory.

Laboratory Results: A 16th-Century Composition

Archaeometallurgist Emma Culligan uses X-ray fluorescence to analyze the artifact. The results are surprising.

“It’s mainly copper, with tin, iron, and a small arsenic peak,” she explains. “This suggests arsenical bronze — material commonly used before the 1700s.”

The date range — potentially mid-1500s — aligns with another recent discovery on nearby Lot 7, where a bonded token with similar metal composition was found.

“It’s at least 500 years old,” Emma concludes.

Rick is visibly stunned. “What does it mean? That’s the question.”

But one thing is clear: Lot 5 is uncovering artifacts far older than the 1795 discovery of the Money Pit.

A Stunning Cache of Early English Pottery

Returning to the field, Gary continues marking detections that Laird has approved for excavation. The next signal leads to something entirely unexpected — layers of highly decorated pottery, buried unusually deep.

Archaeologists are called in.

Laird examines the fragments: “This is press-molded English pottery. The design dates to around 1740. The ceramic type itself is about 1720. Early 18th century.”

Only moments later, Miriam uncovers something even older: a delicate shard of blue-and-white tin-glazed Delftware, also believed to date to the mid-1700s — and never before found anywhere on Oak Island.

“These are the first finds of their kind here,” Laird confirms. “Two early ceramic types in one feature — that changes everything.”

A Rock-Filled Feature and a Copper Nail

As excavation widens, the team reveals a rock-filled structure of unknown purpose. There is no record of any 18th-century settlement on Lot 5, yet the evidence suggests occupation far earlier than expected.

Then another discovery emerges: a heavy, hand-forged copper nail with a rose head — a type commonly used in shipbuilding due to its resistance to corrosion.

“Copper nails like this suggest some connection to maritime construction,” Gary notes. Oak Island has yielded ship timbers before, some dated as early as the 3rd century AD.

Could this nail tie Lot 5 to those maritime finds?

“We’re being transported back to the mid-1700s,” Laird says. “It changes the game.”

A New Center of the Mystery

Lot 5 is proving to be one of the most significant areas on Oak Island. With hammered coins, arsenical bronze, British pottery, Delftware, and shipbuilding materials appearing in rapid succession, the team believes they may be uncovering the footprint of an early, undocumented operation on the island — one possibly connected to the Money Pit itself.

Rick sums it up best:

“Lot 5 is telling us something. And we’re nowhere near done.”