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Charms, halfpennies, from reign of Queen Victoria, and nail (piece)

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from Isle Maree, Loch Maree, Ross and Cromarty, Innis Marui' Eilean Marui'

Charms, halfpennies, from reign of Queen Victoria, and nail (piece)
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These two halfpennies from reign of Queen Victoria, together with part of an iron nail, are from the Isle Maree in Loch Maree in Ross and Cromarty. They had been hammered into the trunk of a dying tree on the island, for superstitious reasons - in this case in order to obtain a cure for 'madness'.

One of the halfpennies is dated 1862, the other 1875. The coins have been bent by being hammered into the tree, which was dying because of the metal that had already been forced into it.

The leaving of tokens or votive coins in or by a well associated with a saint, in this case the Celtic church missionary saint, St Maelrubha, was, and still is, a common practice.

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