The coin ceremony is an event which takes place at the keel laying, in the early stages of a ship's construction. In it, the shipbuilders place one or two coins under the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

block of the new ship to bless the ship and as a symbol of good fortune. The coins are not normally fixed in place and are often retrieved when the ship sails out of the dry-dock, (although they are sometimes welded to the keel). The

mast stepping Mast stepping is the process of raising the mast of a boat. It may be a ceremonial occasion on a new boat, a necessary step (as in stepping the mast of a small sailing dinghy or gig), or simply routine (as following seasonal maintenance on a sail ...

ceremony is a similar event which occurs towards the end of a ship's construction, and involves the placing of coins underneath the mast of a ship. In shipbuilding today, the coins are normally welded beneath the radar mast.US Navy press release: ''Crew of New Multimission Destroyer Honors Namesake in Mast Stepping Ceremony''
17 July 2009, Retrieved 25 October 2009

References

Shipbuilding {{water-transport-stub