A couple uncovered an apparent nest egg of gold coins while renovating their kitchen in a small village in North Yorkshire.
The unidentified couple discovered the relics in July 2019, when they uncovered a salt-glazed cup burrowed underneath the concrete and floorboards of their 18th century home in Ellerby, near the North Sea.
This is one of the biggest stockpiles of 18th century English gold coins ever uncovered in Britain, according to London auction house Spink & Son.
The soda can-sized cup contained more than 260 gold coins in it, Spink & Son said. The coins date from 1610 to 1727.
In terms of value in today's money, the trove holds a spending power of about £100,000 (or $115,100). But the auctioneers expect the coins to sell for at least £250,000 (almost $290,000) next month, Spink & Son said.
Almost all of the gold coins uncovered in the cup were English, but there was also one coin from Brazil, which experts believe circulated through England in the 1720s.
According to Spink & Son's release, the coins belonged to Joseph and Sarah Fernley-Maisters, who were married in 1694.
“The Maisters were perhaps the most influential mercantile family in Hull from the late 16th to 18th centuries, trading as importers and exporters of iron ore, timber and coal from the Baltic; several generations served as Members of Parliament in the early 1700s,” the release stated.
Speaking of the unusual discovery, Spink auctioneer Gregory Edmund stated: “It is a wonderful and truly unexpected discovery from so unassuming a find location. It is an enormous privilege to share in this wonderful find and explore this hoard for the benefit of future generations.”
The coins are slated for auctioning on October 7, 2022.
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