Without truly understanding how treasure hunts work, we spent our afternoons digging in the woods. However, the search for this treasure was simple for a couple.
They also discovered a medieval miniature that could fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars with a bit of luck and some repair work.
A couple stumbled upon an artifact during the renovation of their house.
The house wasn’t described as old, but it contained a secret waiting to be discovered. It was located in Ellerby, North Yorkshire.
They discovered a “salt-glazed earthenware tankard” 400 years later. It was covered in a layer of concrete and soil. The “tankard” was about the size of a Coca-Cola can.
They were surprised by what they found inside the container when they opened it. There was gold inside, but not just any gold.
260 gold coins were found in the treasure, believed to have been in circulation in the 1700s. The coins are worth nearly $116,000 in today’s money.
However, considering their historical value, a price increase is always possible. The coins are actually worth $290,000. It was definitely a find, according to the renowned auction house Spink & Son.
A press release from Gregory Edmunds of the auction house stated, “It’s a wonderful and truly unexpected discovery from such an inexhaustible field of finds.”
He added that considering the period to which the coins belonged, the discovery of 260 coins is one of the most significant in archaeological history.
They believed that the coins belonged to a specific pair.
The auction house stated in a press release that it had informed the media that “the coins likely belonged to the Fearnley-Meisters, Joseph and Sarah, who married in 1694.”
About the couple, the auction house shared to further explain the story. They claimed to descend from an “important merchant family” that lived from the 16th to the 18th century.
In addition to wood, their corporate holdings included iron ore, coal, and other mining products. By the 1700s, some of their ancestors began working for the government.
According to auction house data, the gold was stored in light of the new Bank of England. The Bank of England was founded in 1694 and began issuing paper currency in the 1700s.
The couple must have had little trust in the new system and kept the coins for added security.
