Couple strike it rich after finding 400-year-old coins hidden under their kitchen floor

A couple who found a hoard of ancient coins under their floor during a home renovation have sold the lot for $115,000 at auction.

Brits Becky and Robert Fooks were doing up their farmhouse kitchen when they accidentally hit pay dirt – an urn filled with 400-year-old gold and silver coins, which fetched £60,000 (about $AU115,000) under the hammer.

They bought the 17th-century cottage in South Portoon, Dorset, in 2019 and late last year began removal of the concrete floor to raise the height of the ceiling. Robert Fookes dug two feet underground and struck literal gold – a glazed urn containing 1029 pieces of the ancient currency.

“In some areas there were old flagstones under the concrete but the area the coins were found was bare earth,” the auction house listing explains. “The coins were found by the owner whilst digging with a pickaxe by torchlight one late evening in October.”

When they unearthed the loot, the Fookes alerted the local historic liaison offer and the coins were sent to the British Museum for confirmation.

It is believed the money-filled container was buried during the English Civil War, between 1642 and 1644, for safekeeping. However, the owner never returned for their bounty, mostly of silver half crowns, shillings and sixpences, and Elizabeth I, Phillip and Mary silver shillings and sixpenses, and some other rare and expensive examples.

Duke’s Auctioneers of Dorchester in Dorset sold the coins individually on April 23. The collection included the scarce King James I and King Charles I coins. A King Charles I gold coin was the priciest of the batch, selling for £5,000 (about $AU9550).

Becky Fookes told The Mirror newspaper she and her husband were thrilled by the auction result and will use some of the income on clearing debts accumulated during the reno.

“The auction was brilliant, a very exciting experience and a bit of a whirlwind. We are delighted with the outcome,” she said.

“It started off with the gold coins going for four-figure sums and then it settled down and finished on a high with the Charles I silver coins. The building work at the house is still ongoing so we will use some of the money to pay off some debts and we will also have a few treats with it as well.”