Old coins worth nearly $300,000 found under floorboards [Jolly Old England]

WTHR ^ | 09/04/2022

[BenLurkin]

LONDON, UK — An English household literally uncovered a buried treasure, and they'll likely get a pretty penny for it.

During a renovation of their 18th-century home in 2019, the residents came across a salt-glazed earthenware cup stuck beneath the concrete and floorboards.

When they looked inside, they discovered more than 260 gold coins.

The auction house Spink & Son issued a statement calling this one of the largest hoards of 17th and 18th century English gold coins ever confirmed in Britain.

[21twelve]

The way England has it set up encourages the detectorists to find stuff, the government has to pay the appraised value. And iirc, the detectorist and the farmer (or property owner) can come up with their own agreement on the split so it isn't necessarily 50/50 set by the government.

And by “first dibs”, the government doesn't want everything that is found - only if it is culturally significant.

I can't imagine that these coins from the 1700’s would be that significant to have in a museum.

[Flash Bazbeaux]

The “treasure trove” laws apply if you dig it out of the dirt. If you find it in a house, it may be deemed to have passed down from the original owner to successive owners.

[17th Miss Regt]

The left image says “...Rex Jacob 6 D G...”.

...King Jacob the 6th, By the Grace of God ... (D G is Deus Gratia, still on British coinage).

“Jacob the 6th” would almost certainly be James the 6th of Scotland, who became James I upon ascension to the throne of England.

I can’t read the rest (before of after) as my Latin is not good enough - I am a barbarian.

[Georgia Girl 2]

In the US the feds would just sweep in and confiscate it all.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks BenLurkin.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks!

[MCSETots]

If those are 1oz coins, they’d be worth about $500,000 for the gold content. If the coins are really that old, then value would more likely thousands of dollars per coin, possibly more because of the quantity . . .

[mass55th]

"Yes especially in England. Isn’t their a law that states anything found on English land belongs to the crown?"

Yes. Not all relics found are considered treasure, but whatever is found has to be reported to the local Finds Liaison Officer or the Coroner. According to the link below, they have 14 days in which to report their find.

Discovery and Reporting

It is a fairly long process from reporting the treasure, to the final disposition of the find.

[mass55th]

"I think the harp on the coat of arms makes it a UK coin, I think."

It's the Royal Coat of Arms of James I of England, and VI of Scotland.

[minnesota_bound]

What happened to the original owners of the gold?

[Paperpusher]

“I think you are right. I don’t think people actually own land in England, but it is more like a lease as long as they pay their taxes on it.”

It is the same in America to some extent. Don’t pay your taxes and you will see who really owns the land.

[Chickensoup]

And tax that flat percentage?

[Albion Wilde]

Watch the descendants of the owners from past time periods come out of their woodwork!

[Albion Wilde]

Probably it was the auction house that spilled the beans, not the coin finders.

[laplata]

Good point.

[mass55th]

Another problem that regularly arises with historical items that are auctioned, is that they are barred from leaving the UK if the auction winner lives in another country. This is the most recent item banned from export. This link is to The History Blog, which may take a while to load if you want to view the story.

Export Barred on Roundel Manuscript Gifted to Queen Elizabeth I

A while back, singer Kelly Clarkson bid on a turquoise ring that belonged to Jane Austin, and it was banned from leaving the UK.

Jane Austen ring to stay in the UK after export ban

They can't ban the bidders, so they do the next best thing, they ban the export of the items they don't want leaving the country.

[Notthereyet]

Mommy

I need to research that..... excellent catch!

[kearnyirish2]

Brazil did that with Pele, so he couldn’t be drafted by European leagues.

True story!

[mass55th]

"Brazil did that with Pele, so he couldn’t be drafted by European leagues."

Didn't know that bit of history...thanks for sharing. I hope Brazil's government paid him reparations for being their hostage/slave. I see he's still alive. Do you know if he's ever commented on it?

[kearnyirish2]

You’re welcome! I don’t know if he commented on it, but he was still one of the highest-paid players so he may not have any beef financially.

One advantage to that arrangement is that it let him play with many Brazilian players, so international tournaments may have been easier as a result. When Colombian cartel leaders wanted their country to do better, they offered a lot of money so good Colombian players could remain in their domestic league (and become more familiar with each other) instead of being scattered in Europe - though it never worked out as they hoped.