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Hundreds of rare coins have been discovered buried in the foundations
of a North Devon house. The treasure is going to be examined by
experts but initial indications show they're worth at least £10,000.
There are more than 400 coins in the hoard.
Nine of the
coins that were discovered are James the First gold sovereigns.
Others are groats, sixpences and shillings from the time of Elizabeth
the First and Charles the First.
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Trevor
Fishleigh - the builder who
couldn't believe his eyes
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A local builder,
Trevor Fishleigh, found them while renovating a house in Bideford.
He'd been asked to widen some foundations by just a few inches.
He told the
BBC: "I just moved a bit of earth and I thought that probably
my eyes were deceiving me. Then I thought that, knowing my luck,
it was probably a load of washers."
But instead he found the coins tightly packed inside an earthen
jar - its imprint still visible. It's thought the treasure had been
hidden for safekeeping during the Civil War.
"Coinage is the portable way to store the money you have got.
If you then have to leave what do you do with it? You can't put
it in the bank. You put it in a pot in the ground and hope that
you can return to it later. These people didn't."
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You
can see James the first depicted on this 20 shilling coin
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The coins are in
very good condition, particularly the gold sovereigns. On one (pictured
left) you can clearly see James the First depicted along with the
denomination; 20 shillings - or £1 in very old money.
The coins are going to be taken to the British Museum to be examined.
Then an inquest could be held to determine whether they are treasure
trove and how much money the finders could get. |
