- A lucky couple found 264 gold coins dating as far back as King James I’s reign
- Coins were buried under couple’s kitchen floor in Ellerby, North Yorkshire
- They had been kept in salt-glazed earthenware cup for around three centuries
- Couple have now sold them at an auction for nearly £755,000
A lucky couple who stumbled upon one of Britain’s ‘biggest archaeological finds’ by discovering an incredible hoard of 264 gold coins dating back to the reign of King James I under their kitchen floor have sold them at an auction for nearly £755,000 – three times their original estimated value.
The unnamed couple made the astonishing find while getting a new floor put down in their 18th century detached home in the village of Ellerby, North Yorkshire three years ago, just six inches under the concrete.
The gold coins – some of which are more than 400 years old, dating back as far as 1610, while others stretch to 1727, meaning they cover the reigns of James I, the executed Charles I, and King George I – had been kept in a salt-glazed earthenware cup for around three centuries.
They had been collected by Joseph Fernley and his wife Sarah Maister, members of a wealthy and influential merchant Hull-based family who traded in iron ore, timber and coal, and whose latter generations were Whig politicians and Members of Parliament.
An expert from London auctioneers Spink & Son visited the property to evaluate the hoard – and this year the coins sold for a staggering £754,320.
The unnamed couple made the astonishing find while getting a new floor put down in their 18th century detached home in the village of Ellerby, North Yorkshire
The auction includes this ‘pattern bust’ James I laurel
One of the highlights of the sale – a George I guinea from 1720 which was mistakenly minted without a king’s head on it, instead having two ‘tail’ sides of the coin – fetched £9,600, while a Charles II guinea from 1675 which incorrectly spells the king’s Latin name CRAOLVS instead of CAROLVS also sold for £9,600.
Auctioneer Gregory Edmund called the find ‘one of the largest on archaeological record from Britain’.
He said: ‘The sale was unique in so many ways. The story of the coins, the method of discovery and the rare opportunity to buy them at auction.
‘All that combined in a buoyant and energised market to create incredible new prices as the 264 coins of the Ellerby hoard found new homes. Buyers flocked from around the world to share in the story of Sarah and Joseph Fernley and the privilege of owning a part of their 292-year old treasure.
‘I have never seen a response to an auction like that before, and the results testify it, my provisional estimate was demolished three times over. The finders who wish to remain anonymous were absolutely staggered by the result. It dwarfed any pre-conceived expectations. I am not sure it will ever sink in.
One of the highlights of the sale – a George I guinea from 1720 which was mistakenly minted without a king’s head on it, instead having two ‘tail’ sides of the coin – fetched £9,600, while a Charles II guinea from 1675 which incorrectly spells the king’s Latin name CRAOLVS instead of CAROLVS also sold for £9,600
The gold coins – some of which are more than 400 years old, dating back as far as 1610, while others stretch to 1727, meaning they cover the reigns of James I, the executed Charles I, and King George I – had been kept in a salt-glazed earthenware cup for around three centuries
‘The coins were perhaps very ordinary in one sense, but the story was extraordinary and that is what achieved the mind-blowing result this evening. I do hope people think before ripping up their floors though.
‘It is exceedingly rare for such discoveries to every come to market, so for me to have had such an honour so early in my career is humbling indeed.
‘This find is one of the largest on archaeological record from Britain. It was an entirely serendipitous discovery. The owners have never picked up a metal detector in their life. They were just relaying a floor and thought it was an electrical cable at first.
‘I rushed up to see them in North Yorkshire a few days after and there were 264 gold coins in this cup – it is unfathomable, I have no idea how they managed to fit so many in that pot.
‘The coins date from 1610 to 1727, which is an usually long period for a hoard.
‘It also raises the question why has someone decided to bury a lot of coins at the beginning of the 18th century, when they had banks and bank notes – all the things that meant hoarding shouldn’t have happened any more’.