Dating back over 400 years, the pieces are valued at $115,000. The youngsters got the surprise of their lives when they discovered that there was a ceramic vase filled with gold coins under the kitchen floor. According to El Clarín, the find happened in the town of Ellerby, Yorkshire, UK, in July 2019. However, they have become international news as they just went up for auction in October. The couple were doing some renovation work on their kitchen floor. There, under the thick layer of concrete and planks, they found the container with 264 gold coins, minted between the years 1620 and 1727.
Most were English plays; however, there was one coin from Brazil which is believed to have circulated on the island in the 1720s. pink & Son was in charge of auctioning these coins and although the final amount is not yet known, the house was very optimistic and expected the pieces to sell for at least $290,000. Auction house member Gregory Edmund said the pieces belonged to Joseph and Sarah Fernley-Maisters. They married in 1694 and were a very influential merchant family in the 16th and 17th centuries.
They did business with iron ore, timber and coal from the Baltic States, and in addition, several members of different generations held positions as legislators. The reason for hiding the £50 and £100 coins is the couple’s distrust of the Bank of England. Therefore, most likely, they wanted to accumulate as much money as possible and hide it underground. Although it remains a mystery why no one has dug them up anymore.