When a couple in England renovated their kitchen, they couldn’t believe their eyes: 264 rare, very valuable gold coins were found under the kitchen floor.
England – “120 years of English history hidden in a pot the size of a soda can” is how one auctioneer described the discovery of gold coins that recently fetched $845,000 (€856,000) at auction in England. The valuable asset was discovered by a couple who were in the process of remodeling their kitchen. As reported by Business Insider , the couple found a box containing a total of 264 coins under the concrete and floorboards of the kitchen floor during the renovation. The finds date from the 17th and 18th centuries.
According to BBC News , experts suspect that the coin collection once belonged to the Fernley-Maisters – a merchant family from Hull (East Yorkshire) who made their fortune in the Baltic trade. According to the auction house Spink & Son , the coins attracted international attention and lured private collectors from America, Europe, Australia, China and Japan to the auction. “I’ve never experienced such response to an auction – and the results confirm it,” auctioneer Gregory Edmund told Business Insider . “My preliminary estimate was exceeded three times. The auction exceeded all preconceived notions, setting dozens of world records in the process.”
Auction in England: The most expensive coin was auctioned for 70,700 euros
The coins sold at the auction went to their new owners for varying sums. The most expensive coin was a specimen from 1720, which fetched $69,700 (€70,700). The coin has been called an “incredible minting error” because it was struck headless but with two tails during the reign of King George I.
“The story was extraordinary, and that’s what achieved the amazing result. I do hope, however, that people will think before they dig up their floors,” said auctioneer Edmund. The finders would probably not have thought that the floor on which their kitchen stood would turn out to be such a gold mine. Amazing finds like this one, however, keep coming. Just last year, a couple in the United States discovered a Roman bath under their study during renovation work.
