Reading the latest cruise news I found out that MSC Cruises, and Fincantieri shipyards, held the coin ceremony on MSC Seaside, a super ship that I already told you about in this article. What has caught my attention is what they call "the traditional coin ceremony", which to be honest I did not know existed, and after finding out what it is, I found it curious and I want to share the story.
The coin ceremony is a tradition, some speak of dating back to Viking sailors, but it is not very well known. The idea is that the shipowner and the shipyard place a coin on the keel of the ship and thus celebrate the construction of the new ship, in this case the MSC Seaside.
Whether or not it originates from the Vikings, the truth is that they used to weld two gold coins on the keel of the ship, which is the most important part of the ship, in the same way that they placed silver coins on the foundations of the houses so that bring fortune to those who were to live there.
Today this ceremony is still celebrated, It is already known that seafarers are often very superstitious, and well, any help is considered a blessing on the high seas. The coin ceremony is something that both commercial freight ships and passenger ships participate in, as well as the military, and even in submarines this tradition is followed.
It is cited as an example of bad luck, and confirmation of why you have to put a coin in the structure of the ship, which happened to the vessel VasaYou can also find it written as Wasa, Wasan or Wasen, this is a ship that King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden had built between 1626 and 1628, and which was shipwrecked on its maiden voyage, on August 10, 1628. In the year In 1961 the ship was refloated (now on display in a museum in Stockholm) and no coins were found in its sticks… the ship may have been wrecked due to bad luck, but today it is one of the most profitable attractions in Sweden. And yes I'm thinking the same thing too Did the Titanic have a coin ceremony? I have tried to find out, but did not find any data, so all references are welcome.