In a dramatic final-hour discovery, a rare silver coin dating back more than a century before the pit’s recorded discovery was recovered from the long-neglected Dunfield spoils.
A “Top Pocket” Find in the Dirt The discovery occurred several yards south of the Money Pit area, where Billy Gerhardt and Katya Drayton were excavating mounds of earth moved by searcher Robert Dunfield during his massive, yet ultimately unsuccessful, “Big Dig” in 1965. Drayton recovered a non-ferrous signal that immediately caught the eye of surveyor Steve Guptill. “I think we just found a silver coin,” Drayton announced as she brushed away the Yukon-like mud to reveal a thin, metallic disc. Guptill noted the absence of “milled edges”—the ridged texture common on modern currency—suggesting a date far older than the 19th-century searcher era. The Isaac Newton Connection
The artifact was rushed to the on-site laboratory, where metal technologist Emma Culligan utilized CT scanning and alloy analysis to peer through centuries of oxidation. The results were staggering: the coin is an 87% silver alloy, identified as a William III Sixpence.
Based on the diagnostic imagery of the bust and the distinct “MVS” lettering, Culligan placed the coin’s date range between 1697 and 1701. Historically, this era marks the period when Sir Isaac Newton, as Master of the Royal Mint, revolutionized coinage by introducing milled edges to prevent counterfeiting—a detail this specific coin predates or lacks due to its early mintage. “A Piece of Treasure” For Rick and Marty Lagina, the coin represents more than just currency; it represents a chronological shift in the island’s narrative.
“A hundred years before the Money Pit was discovered is a heck of a long time,” Marty Lagina remarked during the final team briefing. “This leads you to one of two places: either this is the time of the depositor, or searchers were here long before we ever knew.” The team noted that in the late 17th century, silver was not the currency of the common laborer. The presence of such a coin suggests “someone of means” was active on the island long before the 1795 legend of Daniel McGinnis and the three oak trees began.
A Golden Farewell To mark the end of the season, Marty Lagina closed the final meeting with a symbolic gesture, producing a one-ounce pure gold Canadian Maple Leaf. While the elusive “pot of gold” at the bottom of the Money Pit remains undiscovered, Lagina emphasized that the data and the artifacts found this year—including the silver sixpence—validate the team’s “Sempre Avanti” (Always Forward) mantra.
“We have added chapters upon chapters of information,” Rick Lagina added, reflecting on the season’s conclusion. “I’d like a year where we said, ‘We did it.’ That moment has not come, but I won’t relent.” As the winter freeze begins to settle over Nova Scotia, the team is already planning a massive caisson operation for 2027, fueled by the knowledge that silver is indeed hiding within the spoils of Oak Island.
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