Lucky couple struck gold, finding hidden treasure under their floorboards!
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We've all daydreamed about finding hidden treasures while going about our everyday lives, right? Who wouldn't want to stumble across a pot of gold or some precious jewels just lying around, waiting to be found?
And while most of us will probably never experience this phenomenon firsthand, every now and then, we hear a story in the news about someone who got lucky and found something truly priceless.
The quote: 'One man's rubbish is another man's treasure', has already been proven from time to time, but in this case, it was more like: 'One couple's renovation project became their golden ticket to early retirement.'
This one couple from the UK were going about their business, renovating their kitchen when they unearthed a small salt-glazed earthenware cup while removing the concrete and floorboards.
A couple unexpectedly found a bunch of old coins under their floorboard. Credit: Spink & Son.
At first, they had no idea what it was or why it would be buried underneath their home in Ellerby, North Yorkshire – that is, until they looked inside and found more than 260 gold coins dating from 1610 to 1727.
Just let that sink in for a minute… over two hundred gold coins!
Gregory Edmund, an auctioneer with Spink & Son, said of the find: 'It is a wonderful and truly unexpected discovery from such an unassuming location'.
And we couldn't agree more! He even went on to say that it was 'one of the largest on archaeological record from Britain, and certainly for the 18th century period'.
According to the BBC, the coins went to auction on Saturday with an estimated selling price of £250,000 ($A437,887), but instead brought in a whopping £754,000 ($A1.3 million).
The coins were purchased by collectors from all over the world, including the United States, Europe, Australia, China, and Japan, and were sold to them separately.
A video posted to Instagram shows one of the coins being sold for £52,000 (roughly $A91,151), and the auctioneer can be heard describing the specific coin as 'the most storied coin of the hoard and the most remarkable one'.
'How on earth did this enter circulation with no head of King George I? Just think of the inflammatory response that would have had just six years into the new age of Hanover,' he said.
Edmund said the auction result was 'absolutely extraordinary'. Can you imagine finding that kind of money just lying around your house? It really is a dream come true for this couple.
According to Spink & Son, the coins 'almost certainly' belonged to the Fernley-Maister family. In 1694, Joseph Fernley and Sarah Maister got hitched and settled in Ellerby.
The question is, who exactly were they? From the 16th through to the 18th century, the Maisters were a prominent trading family who imported and exported goods such as iron ore, lumber, and coal from the Baltic republics. Several generations of Maisters also served as legislators beginning in the early 1700s.
Sadly (but fortunately for the UK couple), the Maisters' family line shrank quickly after the pair passed away, which is probably why the coins were never found, according to the auction company.
The discovery, found in a cup a similar size to a soft drink can, featured 264 gold coins in total. Credit: Spink & Son.
Can you imagine just how shocked and excited these lucky homeowners must have been? They probably thought all their Christmases had come at once!
We hope this couple enjoyed a well-deserved break after all their hard work, and we hope their story inspires you to start your own renovation project – you never know what you might find!
And while most of us will probably never experience this phenomenon firsthand, every now and then, we hear a story in the news about someone who got lucky and found something truly priceless.
The quote: 'One man's rubbish is another man's treasure', has already been proven from time to time, but in this case, it was more like: 'One couple's renovation project became their golden ticket to early retirement.'
This one couple from the UK were going about their business, renovating their kitchen when they unearthed a small salt-glazed earthenware cup while removing the concrete and floorboards.
A couple unexpectedly found a bunch of old coins under their floorboard. Credit: Spink & Son.
At first, they had no idea what it was or why it would be buried underneath their home in Ellerby, North Yorkshire – that is, until they looked inside and found more than 260 gold coins dating from 1610 to 1727.
Just let that sink in for a minute… over two hundred gold coins!
Gregory Edmund, an auctioneer with Spink & Son, said of the find: 'It is a wonderful and truly unexpected discovery from such an unassuming location'.
And we couldn't agree more! He even went on to say that it was 'one of the largest on archaeological record from Britain, and certainly for the 18th century period'.
According to the BBC, the coins went to auction on Saturday with an estimated selling price of £250,000 ($A437,887), but instead brought in a whopping £754,000 ($A1.3 million).
The coins were purchased by collectors from all over the world, including the United States, Europe, Australia, China, and Japan, and were sold to them separately.
A video posted to Instagram shows one of the coins being sold for £52,000 (roughly $A91,151), and the auctioneer can be heard describing the specific coin as 'the most storied coin of the hoard and the most remarkable one'.
'How on earth did this enter circulation with no head of King George I? Just think of the inflammatory response that would have had just six years into the new age of Hanover,' he said.
Edmund said the auction result was 'absolutely extraordinary'. Can you imagine finding that kind of money just lying around your house? It really is a dream come true for this couple.
According to Spink & Son, the coins 'almost certainly' belonged to the Fernley-Maister family. In 1694, Joseph Fernley and Sarah Maister got hitched and settled in Ellerby.
The question is, who exactly were they? From the 16th through to the 18th century, the Maisters were a prominent trading family who imported and exported goods such as iron ore, lumber, and coal from the Baltic republics. Several generations of Maisters also served as legislators beginning in the early 1700s.
Sadly (but fortunately for the UK couple), the Maisters' family line shrank quickly after the pair passed away, which is probably why the coins were never found, according to the auction company.
The discovery, found in a cup a similar size to a soft drink can, featured 264 gold coins in total. Credit: Spink & Son.
Can you imagine just how shocked and excited these lucky homeowners must have been? They probably thought all their Christmases had come at once!
We hope this couple enjoyed a well-deserved break after all their hard work, and we hope their story inspires you to start your own renovation project – you never know what you might find!
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