A British couple could have made more than £35,000 after discovering 1,000 rare 400-year-old coins under floorboards during renovations to their home.
Betty and Robert Fuchs were removing the concrete floor of their Dorset home when they discovered a 17th-century alteration in a broken glazed earthenware bowl.
They reported it to the local finds liaison officer, who sent it to the British Museum for cleaning and identification, who determined that the coin, known as Porton's Treasure, was genuine and valued at around £35,000. There was found.
They will be auctioned at Duke's Auctioneers in Dorchester, Dorset.
The treasure includes gold coins, silver half-crowns, shillings and sixpence of James I and Charles I, as well as silver shillings and sixpence of Elizabeth I and Philip and Mary.
NHS health visitor Betty Fuchs told the Guardian: We removed all the floors and ceilings and replaced them with stone walls. We decided to lower the floor on the first floor to increase the ceiling height.
“One night I was with the kids and my husband was digging with a pickaxe and he called me to say he had found something. He put all the coins in a bucket. If he hadn't lowered the floor. , they were probably still hiding there. Perhaps the person intended to retrieve them, but didn't get the chance.”
The couple carried out this work to raise the floor of their lower level, and now they may be able to make a lot of money.
Duke auctioneer expert Julian Smith told the Guardian: The property was purchased by the current owners in 2019 and a major renovation project began.
“The modern concrete floor was removed and the floor was dug down nearly two feet to prove the lower level of the property. In some areas there were old paving stones under the concrete, but coins The area where it was found was bare land.
“The coin has been kept at the British Museum for identification and cleaning and is believed to have been deposited once.”
The coin will go under the hammer on Tuesday, April 23rd.