A couple became millionaires after finding buried treasure in a house containing 260 British gold coins. They were under the kitchen floor of the property I bought. The gems from about 300 years ago were hidden in a small metal vessel.
Inside was gold worth £100,000 – in today’s money – but as they are numismatic relics from Britain’s past, auctioneers believe the collection could be up to £250,000 – over £1.3m.
The couple recently moved into an 18th-century estate home in Ellerby, North Yorkshire, England. And during a kitchen renovation, he discovered treasures dating from the reign of James I to George I.
“Remarkable Treasure”
This was two years ago, and at the time, the couple believed they were the ruins of electrical wiring, but when they discovered the pot, their jaws dropped. There, he called on Spink & Son, a London auctioneer, to help him appraise the mysterious shining coins.
Auctioneer Gregory Edmund said the remarkable treasure is unlike any discovery in British archeology and auction of any coin in living memory. He explained that the mysteriously buried £50 and £100 coins were never recovered by the house’s former owner, a wealthy man.
And that, no doubt, the property belonged to one of the wealthiest families in the area—Joseph and Sarah Farnley-Masters.
Wasn’t sure to leave money in the bank
They were married in 1694 and were perhaps the most influential merchant family of the late 16th to 18th centuries. They acted as importers and exporters of iron ore, timber and coal from the Baltic. According to auctioneer Edmund, the fact that he buried the coins indicates that the Farnley-Masters were wary of the newly formed Bank of England because they chose to hide so many coins from the time of the English Civil War.
And some stand out as unique. There is a George I Guinea from 1720, without a king’s head. Another gold coin is the Brazilian and was minted in 1720. It operated in a state of ban in England at the time.
can be auctioned
Incidentally, as determined by the Treasury Act of 1996, any gold or silver coin minted 300 years ago becomes government property and is purchased from the discoverer at fair market value for museum keeping.
All but one of the coins were minted about 292 years ago, making them non-treasury and therefore up for auction.
Sonoticiaboa. with information from
