You could spend an eternity weeding your garden. Thankfully, this couple from England decided to combat procrastination and tidy up their plot. During the 2020 lockdown, there wasn’t much else to do. The household chore ended up being very profitable, as they found some circular discs covered in clay that turned out to be a historical treasure.
Imagine digging in your backyard to plant a tree and finding no less than 70 gold coins with an estimated value of around £230,000. This happened to a British couple in Milford-on-Sea, Hampshire.
A Treasure Hidden in the Garden
It is currently believed that the treasure was hidden around 1540. Whoever hid it was exceptionally wealthy; each of these coins was worth £26. With a single gold coin like these, you could buy a house. The owner must have been a wealthy merchant, or possibly a high-ranking clergyman.
This was a rather tumultuous period thanks to Henry VIII. The monarch broke his ties with Rome and Catholicism and proceeded to confiscate all the wealth of Catholic institutions. This is known as the “Dissolution of the Monasteries” (which took place from 1536 to 1541), and coincides with the date on which this cache of immensely valuable coins was buried. Rather than handing it over to the king, Christchurch Priory, the closest place to the site, decided to hide this treasure.
A deep analysis of the gold coins
Such striking coins were minted for almost 100 years, from Henry VII in the 1420s to Henry VIII in the 1530s. The main book bore a figure of the Archangel Michael slaying a dragon. This was a working gold coin worth 10 shillings. Then there were the other coins bearing the king’s initials (H for Henry) rather than those of one of his wives (e.g., K for Catherine of Aragon and I for Jane Seymour).
Needless to say, the second letter changed quite often. This catalog of disparate coins is of great historical value, as it shows historians what types of coins were kept at a single moment in time before they were buried.
Even centuries before the fiat system was imposed, Henry VIII was already devaluing the currency. He used gold to finance his government. He went from using solid gold coins to bathing copper coins in a simple gold bath. This earned him the nickname “Old Copper Nose” because of how his portraits ended up on other coins.
From National Treasure to Private Lottery
When the couple found these coins, they reported the discovery to the authorities. The hoard of coins was quickly declared a treasure. Fortunately for the couple, although the British Museum examined it, no institution was able or willing to purchase the treasure, so it was returned to the couple in 2023. Finally, these coins will be sold in Zurich, Switzerland, next month. As the final owners, this couple will receive 100% of the proceeds. According to the press, “it’s as if they had won the lottery.”
This couple, who started weeding their garden, ended up finding a treasure worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. The United Kingdom has an intense history, which is reflected in every corner of the nation. For now, the couple has wished to remain anonymous (lest friends and family they haven’t seen in years show up asking for money).
The next time someone tells you that gardening doesn’t make money, forward them this news story. You probably won’t make a fortune growing tomatoes, but you’ll have a good laugh. Being in the garden has many benefits: it relaxes you, connects you with nature, you can end up with affordable fruit and flowers, and you never know when you might find a stash of coins from four centuries ago.