I'm a 100% disabled veteran turned professional metal detectorist. Last summer my friend and I drove 90 minutes north to Lancaster Ohio to detect an original 1860 house underground railroad house. I walked up in the yard, set my detector down where I always start, right side of the walk before the stairs to enter the residence because most people are right handed and this is about the spot where most people pull a key out of their right pocket dropping coins. This method has paid off more times than I can count.

This particular time as I turned in my Whites Mx Sport pro detector it began beeping as I was purring in the headphones. 4" under the dense soil I dug this 1847 octagonal Large cent. I've been researching this coin for over a year and have found many examples of different years found all over the country. I've seen maybe 15 total online. The only story I have found was that it was called a trust token, a symbol or proof that the bearer was a legitimate slave and not a southern slave spy. I guess it would be presented to the person(s) running the UGRR house to prove yes, they came from another UGRR establishment in line with their dangerous journey.

This coin is the most interesting and mysterious object out of all the items and coins I've dug since I began two years ago. Since the U.S. Mint did not mint octagonal large cents I've been on this quest to substantiate the UGRR trust token story or uncover the true history of this practice. I appreciate any kind of help or advice you could give me. Thank you.

I think I have one of those somewhere, but I know nothing about them. I assumed they were merely the result of someone with too much time on his hands. I believe I also have one made in the shape of a gear.

I’ve seen couple of these before, but I’ve heard nothing about a purpose. The Underground Railroad would be an interesting story, but I’ve heard nothing about that myself. It’s kind of interesting that the coin shows a reverse rotation.