It looks like any old, gnarled tree that has seen the violent, chaotic, beautiful effects of nature. Maybe it's from a foreign part of the Earth, where all trees in the area bend and twist around under the weight of time and gravity. It's unique to us, but just part of an ever-changing scenery in its native landscape.
Now look closer:
That's not just the bumpy, scraggly bark of a generation-old tree: those are coins, embedded deeply into the bark, placed there under pounding hammers by Brits looking for good luck and a granted wish.
The whole story is here, along with some more pictures of similar trees in the area.
The original tradition involved sick people knocking coins into the trees back in the 1700s, believing that by doing so, they would relieve themselves of their ailments. Not only that, but whoever removed the coin would then take on whatever sickness the original owner of the coin wanted gone.
We didn't even have a wishing well in my home town...
-JJ
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