Jackpot under kitchen floor, UK couple find gold worth Rs 2.3 cr

A UK couple found ancient gold coins dating back over 400 years while renovating their house. The stash consists of 264 gold coins that will fetch Rs 2.3 crore in an auction handled by Spink & Son soon.

The gold coins are dated from 1610 to 1727 and belong to the reign of James I and Charles I. They are believed to be the property of the Fernley-Maisters, an influential merchant family from Hull. The couple did not realise the value of the coins until London auctioneers Spink & Son carried out an expert analysis.

The fortunate couple has chosen to remain anonymous but revealed that they have been living in the same house for the past 10 years.

The hoard of gold was discovered in 2019 when the homeowners were renovating their 18th-century house in Ellerby. Coins were inside a metal can six inches under the concrete. At first, they thought they hit an electric cable but later realised it is a cup the size of a Coke can.

Gregory Edmund, from Spink & Son, told The Times that it is exciting to see how much these coins are worth in a public marketplace. He added that he is at a loss to think of a comparable auction of this magnitude of English coins at one time.

"This is a fascinating and highly important discovery. It is extraordinarily rare for hoards of English gold coins to ever come onto the marketplace. This find of over 260 coins is also one of the largest in archaeological records from Britain. They're not mint perfect coins, they are coins that have had a hard life," said the auctioneer.