Gary Drayton and Sandy Campbell Lead Coin Discoveries with Marty and Rick Lagina | The Curse of Oak Island S11E1

In Season 11, Episode 1 of The Curse of Oak Island, titled “On the Money” and aired on November 7, 2023, the cast returns to Lot 5—already notable for multiple ancient coin discoveries. Metal detection expert Gary Drayton works alongside Rick and Marty Lagina, Craig Tester, and Jack Begley, recovering what becomes the fourth coin found in the area within a short span.

What begins as field excitement quickly transforms into a more formal examination. The team turns to numismatist Sandy Campbell, whose four decades of experience analyzing rare and ancient currency becomes critical in identifying the items. Campbell joins the team in the Interpretive Centre, where he evaluates each coin with measured precision.

The first coin, showing a portcullis design, is traced to the Tudor period in 16th-century Britain, connecting the artifact to a broader historical context already hinted at by previous English and Spanish discoveries. Sandy remarks, “That’s a Tudor monarch period item. It’s very obvious that’s a portcullis.”

The analysis escalates when Campbell is presented with a second coin, which he identifies as Roman in origin, dating between 100 and 300 AD. “This is a Roman coin from probably between 100 and 300 AD, if I’m allowed to use AD,” he quips. A third coin, difficult to immediately identify, is tentatively linked to 6th- to 8th-century India, introducing a new geographical dimension. The fourth coin, smaller and more detailed, is also confirmed to be Roman—this time possibly from the BC era, making it potentially the oldest coin ever discovered on Oak Island.

Marty Lagina reflects on the implications: “We’ve found English coins. We’ve found Spanish coins. Now we’ve found an Indian coin. We’ve found a Chinese coin. Who gathers all these weird non-associated coins?” His comment underlines a central mystery of Oak Island—why such a globally diverse set of artifacts would be concentrated in one relatively isolated area of Nova Scotia.

The episode also revisits theories proposed by the late Zena Halpern, whose research and maps of transatlantic voyages and Templar connections continue to influence the team’s broader investigation. Her maps and claims of transatlantic voyages by the Knights Templar continue to influence the team’s broader investigation. The Roman and Tudor coins lend renewed weight to Halpern’s belief that Oak Island was not just a fabled treasure site, but potentially a waypoint for multiple, layered expeditions across centuries.

Cast featured in this episode include Rick Lagina, Marty Lagina, Gary Drayton, Craig Tester, Jack Begley, Laird Niven, and Sandy Campbell. Their collaboration underscores a consistent theme across recent seasons: merging hard data with historical possibility.

As Marty states during the closing moments of the reviewed segment, “Here’s a fact. We found those coins on Oak Island. That’s a fact.” The team continues their pursuit not just of treasure, but of verifiable proof that Oak Island’s legend is rooted in centuries of intentional, and perhaps international, activity.