Oldest coin tree

As early as 1863, visitors to the small loch island of Isle Maree, Scotland, were known to press coins into a prominent oak tree. Beside it was a holy well, the waters from which were believed to cure mental illnesses. In thanks for a cure, pennies would be inserted into the nearby tree. By the late 19th century, pennies were hammered into the tree to make wishes. When Queen Victoria visited the tree in 1887, she hammered one in herself.

People were hammering coins into trees – known today as "coin trees" or "wishing trees" – as a healing ritual or for wishes in Ireland and Scotland during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The custom resurfaced at the start of the 21st century. Coin-trees can be found across Great Britain and Ireland, often in the form of logs lying next to woodland paths. The reappearance of the tradition has drawn criticism from conservationists due to the potential damge the practice can cause to trees and to forest ecosystems.