Finding a buried treasure isn’t something that only happens in movies. One family from Dorset, UK, recently discovered more than 1,000 rare coins stashed in the ground while renovating their kitchen.
Betty and Robert Fooks were in the midst of remodeling their cottage at South Poorton Farm when they decided to scrape the concrete floor in the kitchen in order to add more height to the ceilings. After removing the floor and a layer of dirt, Robert discovered a ceramic vase filled with gold and silver coins.
“One evening, I was with the children and my husband was digging with a pick axe when he called to say they’ve found something. He put all the coins in a bucket. If we hadn’t lowered the floor, they would still be hidden there. I presume the person intended to retrieve them but never got the chance,” Betty described the discovery in a chat with The Guardian.
The family notified the local finds liaison officer, after which the coins were sent to the British Museum for further inspection. The museum experts dated the coins to the 17th century.
The coin throve was recently put up for auction by UK auction house Duke’s Auctioneers and sold for £60,740 (approximately $76,000), surpassing the estimated price of £60,740. Some coins were auctioned off individually, like a gold coin depicting Charles I, which went for £5,000 ($6,260), while others were sold in batches.