A house renovation in the north of England has revealed a trove of gold coins, which could fetch up to $290,000 at auction next month. The discovery is one of the largest hoards of 18th-century English gold coins ever unearthed in Britain
Homeowners decided to renovate their home in the north of England, revealing a trove of gold coins that could be worth up to $290,000 at auction next month. The discovery is one of the largest hoards of 18th-century English gold coins ever unearthed in Britain, according to auction house Spink & Son, CNN reported.
While renovating their kitchen in July 2019, the residents uncovered an earthenware cup under the concrete and floorboards of their home in Arleigh, North Yorkshire. The cup, described as no bigger than a drinking can, contained more than 260 gold coins dating from 1610 to 1727. The hoard of coins has an estimated value of £100,000 ($116,00).
Coins found: Spink & Son auction house
Gregory Edmond, director of auctions at Spink & Son, said the remarkable find was unlike any other find in British archeology or any coin auction. “This is a wonderful and truly unexpected discovery from such an unassuming place,” Edmond said in a press release. “This find of over 260 coins is also one of the largest in the archaeological record from Britain, and certainly for the period of the 18th century,” he added.
“The coins almost certainly belonged to the Fernley-Meister family, Joseph and Sarah who were married in 1694,” the press release said. According to Spink & Son, the Meisters were an influential merchant family from the 16th to the 18th century. They traded iron ore, timber and coal from the Baltic states and some of them took office as legislators in the early 17th century. Their family line dwindled shortly after the couple’s deaths, which is likely why the coins were never returned, the auction house said.