The homeowners were relaying their kitchen floor at their home in Ellerby, North Yorkshire, when they stumbled upon a salt-glazed earthenware cup.
A couple renovating their 18th-century detached home were left in shock after discovering a stash of 264 rare gold coins worth $323,756 hidden beneath their kitchen floor.
The treasure trove, which dates back over four centuries, was found as the homeowners were updating their kitchen flooring and came across a salt-glazed earthenware cup six inches underground. Their home is in Ellerby, North Yorkshire, England.
Initially mistaking it for an electrical cable, they were shocked to find the cup brimming with gold coins, reports Daily Express UK. Since the earliest coin in the hoard was less than 300 years old, the collection didn’t qualify as treasure under legal terms, allowing the lucky couple to keep the coins and put them up for auction at their hefty valuation.
The hoard has since fetched a whopping $976,000 at sale.
Experts have dated the coins between 1610 and 1727, covering the reigns of James I, Charles I and George I.
It’s thought that the coins once belonged to Joseph and Sarah Fernley-Maisters, a prosperous merchant family from Hull involved in trading iron ore, timber, and coal, with several family members serving as MPs in the early 18th century.
Auctioneer Gregory Edmund from Spink and Son hailed the discovery as “a wonderful and truly unexpected discovery from so unassuming a location.”
Edmund said: “This find of over 260 coins is also one of the largest on archaeological record from Britain, and certainly for the 18th century period.”
He added: “The estimate was $259,000 to $323,000, but when we made that estimate, we neglected to think about the genuine, raw passion that people had for the story behind it.”
He said: “It is an enormous privilege to share in this wonderful find and explore this hoard for the benefit of future generations.”
English