Lucky couple who found 264 gold coins dating back to reign of King James I sell them for £754,000

A lucky couple who stumbled upon one of Britain’s ‘greatest archaeological finds’ by discovering under their kitchen floor an incredible treasure trove of 264 gold coins dating back to the reign of King James I have sold them at auction for nearly £ 755,000 – three times their original estimated value.

The unnamed couple made the astonishing find while getting a new floor three years ago in their 18th-century detached house in the village of Ellerby, North Yorkshire, just 6 inches below the concrete.

The gold coins – some of which are over 400 years old and date back to 1610, while others stretch as far as 1727, meaning they cover the reigns of James I, the executed Charles I and King George I – were kept in a salt-filled glazed earthenware cup for about three centuries.

They had been collected by Joseph Fernley and his wife Sarah Maister, members of a wealthy and influential Hull merchant family who traded iron ore, timber and coal, and whose last generations were Whig politicians and MPs.

An expert from London auctioneer Spink & Son visited the property to evaluate the treasure – and this year the coins sold for a whopping £754,320.

One of the highlights of the sale – a 1720 George I guinea accidentally minted without a king’s head on it, but with two ‘tail’ sides of the coin – fetched £9,600, while a 1675 Charles II guinea which misspells the king’s Latin name CRAOLVS instead of CAROLVS was also sold for £9,600.

Auctioneer Gregory Edmund called the find ‘one of Britain’s greatest archaeological finds’.

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 of that combined in a vibrant and energetic market to create incredible new prizes as the 264 coins of the Ellerby treasure found a new home. Buyers flocked from all over the world to share in Sarah and Joseph Fernley’s story and the privilege of owning some of their 292-year-old treasure.

‘I have never seen such a response to an auction like this and the results bear witness to it, my preliminary estimate was scrapped three times. The finders who wished to remain anonymous were amazed by the result. It overshadowed all preconceived expectations. Not sure if it will ever get through.

“The coins may have been very common in a sense, but the story was extraordinary and that’s what made the stunning result tonight. However, I hope people think before tearing up their floors.

“It’s extremely rare for such discoveries to come on the market, so to have had such an honor so early in my career is indeed humbling.

‘This find is one of the largest archaeological finds in Britain. It was a completely accidental discovery. The owners have never picked up a metal detector in their lives. They were just relaying a floor and at first thought it was an electrical cable.

‘A few days later I rushed to see them in North Yorkshire and there were 264 gold coins in this cup – it’s unbelievable, I have no idea how they managed to get so many in that pot.

‘The coins date from 1610 to 1727, which is usually a long period for a treasure.

“It also begs the question of why someone decided to bury a lot of coins in the early 18th century, when they still had banks and notes – all the things that involved hoarding should not have happened again.”