HMS Victory: 'Good luck' farthing coin found under ship's mast

The coin dates to 1894, the year a set of masts were installed on HMS Victory

A 127-year-old farthing has been discovered under the mast of Lord Nelson's flagship, HMS Victory.

The Victorian-era coin, which was found when the mast was removed for restoration work, was placed there for good luck.

It dates to 1894, the year a set of masts were installed on the ship after the previous ones became rotten.

HMS Victory's principal heritage adviser Rosemary Thornber called the coin "invaluable".

In its day it was worth a quarter of a penny, and now would have a value of 0.1p.

The now-corroded coin once showed Queen Victoria's head on one side, and Britannia on the other, with a lighthouse in the background.

The tradition of placing coins under ships' masts dates back to Roman times and still continues today.

The coin was found by Diana Davis, head of conservation at the National Museum of the Royal Navy

It was found by Diana Davis, head of conservation at the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN).

"I removed as much of the corrosion as possible without damaging the patinated copper alloy surface," she explained.

She added "the impact of the mast with upwards of 21 tonnes resting on it" caused damage but she said she was able to clean it enough to uncover the lighthouse on its surface.

"It's been one of the more unusual projects I've worked on - being the first person to see the coin in over 120 years," she added.

HMS Victory is in dry dock in Portsmouth

Ms Thornber said: "We had wondered if there would be a coin under the mast, to follow with naval tradition, and imagine our excitement when the coin was found and news rapidly spread through the team, who were sworn to secrecy whilst we conserved it and made plans to put it on display."

She added "on paper it's not particularly rare" but "it occupied such an intriguing place for so many decades, and now its imprint is part of Victory's fabric".

The coin is now on display to mark Trafalgar Day at the NMRN, next to Victory's dry dock at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.