Tourist coins undermine the Giant Causeway in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland's Giant's Causeway attracts nearly a million visitors a year, but their habit of placing tiny coins into crevices between the rocks—to bring love or good luck—is damaging this world-famous wonder. Authorities are now urging tourists to keep their coins in their pockets to preserve the spectacular landscape.

Approximately 40,000 columns characterize the causeway, Northern Ireland's first UNESCO World Heritage site. Geologists believe this natural phenomenon was created by a basaltic lava flow 60 million years ago. Legend has it that the causeway was created by the Irish giant Finn McCool.

In recent decades, visitors have placed thousands of coins into the rock crevices. The gesture is "a sign of love or good luck," according to Cliff Henry, the causeway's conservation manager. But the coins corrode and expand rapidly, causing the basalt to flake and leaving "unsightly" rust-colored streaks, Henry said. He pointed to the streaks on a rock and carefully extracted a penny with a set of keys. "We get a lot of euros and cents. But coins from all over the world, practically every currency you can think of, we've had them here," he said.

Cliff Henry points out rust marks left by coins inserted into cracks in the stones of the Giant's Causeway (AFP)

A 2021 British Geological Survey report found that the coins were "causing serious damage" and that something needed to be done, it noted. Signs are now posted around the site urging tourists to "leave no trace."

"When some visitors see that others have done it, they feel the need to contribute," explains tour guide Joan Kennedy. She and her colleagues now gently but firmly warn tourists to desist. At the exit of the causeway, an American couple said they were "shocked" to learn of the damage caused by the metal. "As we were climbing, our guide said that some people had inserted coins into the stones. It's really terrible to hear that," said Robert Lewis, a 75-year-old from Florida. "It's kind of like damaging any kind of nature when you do something like that, inserting something foreign into nature. It's not good," said his wife, Geri, 70.

As part of a £30,000 (about €35,000) conservation project, stonecutters recently removed as many coins as possible, without causing further damage, from 10 test sites around the causeway. Henry said the project was successful and will be extended to the entire causeway.

"If we can remove all those coins, to begin with, it will improve the situation and hopefully prevent more from being placed," he concluded. "If visitors saw fewer coins in the stones and listened to the calls to stop this harmful practice, perhaps the problem could be solved.

"We know that visitors love and appreciate the Giant's Causeway, and many form deep personal connections with it, so we want this natural wonder to remain special for future generations."