You can find all manner of strange things when renovating your home – from time capsules to messages left on the wall by previous owners.
But one couple, from Ellerby in North Yorkshire, completely hit the jackpot when they uncovered something unexpected. The pair discovered 264 rare coins buried six inches beneath the floorboards of their 18th century property.
And to their astonishment, the old silvers and coppers from 400 years ago are said to be worth a whopping £250,000. News of the big find was posted by TikTok user @CoinCollectingWizard.
The content creator, who has more than 215,000 followers on the platform, posted a short video and said: “Holy kitchen renovation. A couple found 264 gold coins buried beneath their kitchen floor worth £250,000.
“On closer inspection, they found the gold coins that dated from 1610 to 1727 and covered the reigns of James I and Charles I through to George I. This find of over 260 coins is also one of the largest on archeological record from Britain.”
Back in 2022, it was revealed the coins belonged to a wealthy merchant family from Hull, known as the Fernley-Maisters. They were importers and exporters of timber, coal and iron ore with latter generations serving as Members of Parliament in the early 1700s.
These coins were collected in the lifetime of Joseph Fernley, who died in 1725, and his wife Sarah Maister. His widow, meanwhile, passed away at the age of 80 in 1745. The coins, which were initially discovered in July 2019, were believed to be worth an estimated £250,000 as of 2022.
While the money expert questioned why someone would bury so many coins at the beginning of the century when they had banks, he did add: “Nonetheless, it is a wonderful and truly unexpected discovery.”
Two years after the news first hit headlines, people still can’t get over the wild discovery. In recent days, one responder said it was a “dream find”. Meanwhile, another joked: “I knew I’d left it somewhere.”