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Coins spanning a century found in pub renovation

Paul Stockreiter A mixture of coins ranging in colour - including copper and silver - and showing a range of use with some shiny and other worn and pittedPaul Stockreiter
The coins are thought to have been lost by customers of the pub covering more than a century of its use

Coins from the Victorian era, the German Occupation of Guernsey and up to the 1970s have been found during the refurbishment of a pub.

They were discovered by carpenter Paul Stockreiter during the redevelopment of La Fontaine Inn, on Vale Road, which started earlier in January.

Shane Le Page, from the Guernsey Heritage Keepers - a non-profit metal detecting group, said: "I believe it's just a mixture of coins that's probably just slipped under the floor boards or gaps over the years."

He said: "The Queen Victoria Penny - late 1800s - is the oldest and all the other coins running through to 1971... so the history of the occupants of the building."

Paul Stockreiter Heavily damaged and worn German coin. The Reichsadler - an heraldic eagle - on top of a swastika can be seen on the Reichsmark and the date 1940 can be seen on the lower edge of the coin as well as letters from Deutsches Reich around the rest of the edge.Paul Stockreiter
Later in the five-year occupation of the Channel Islands paper money was issued to replace coins as the metal was used for war materiel

Mr Le Page said it was not that unusual to find coins, cigarette packs, food packaging, newspapers, bottles, receipts, books and other items either from when the buildings were built or in the intervening time.

He said the coin from the German Occupation of the island was made of cheap metal as most coins were during World War Two.

On the coin can be seen the Reichsadler, heraldic eagle, on top of a swastika and the date 1940 along with some of the letters of Deutsches Reich around the edge.

Paul Stockreiter A Guernsey 4 Doubles coin from 1906. It is copper in colour reflecting signs of use.Paul Stockreiter
Guernsey introduced its own currency the double in 1830, but continued to use French currency - the livre and then the franc, before adopting Sterling in 1921

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