A couple are celebrating after earning £60,000 by selling some historical coins they found hidden under the kitchen floor of their new home.
Becky and Robert Fooks had recently bought the 17th-century cottage when they carried out work to remove the kitchen's concrete floor to create more ceiling height. After digging down 2ft with a pickaxe, Mr Fooks found a smashed glazed pottery bowl full to the brim with 400-year-old gold and silver coins.
The agricultural engineer counted 1,029 coins which included rare King James I and King Charles I examples. The hoard is believed to have been buried between 1642 and 1644 during the English Civil War for safekeeping by the owner who never returned to recover it.
The Fookses, from South Poorton, near Bridport, Dorset, reported it to the local finds liaison officer and it was then sent to the British Museum for identification. Every single coin was sold by Duke's Auctioneers of Dorchester, Dorset, for a combined hammer price of £60,000. With fees added on, the total amount paid for the hoard was £78,000. The pre-sale estimate for it was £35,000.
The most valuable lot was a 1635 King Charles I gold crown that fetched £5,000. A Charles I silver shilling dating to 1641-43 sold for £3,200 while a James I gold laurel coin from 1621-23 went for £2,700.
The Fookses attended the sale and were "over the moon" with the results. Mrs Fooks, a 43-year-old NHS health visitor, said: "The auction was brilliant, a very exciting experience and a bit of a whirlwind. We are delighted with the outcome.
"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."
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Julian Smith, a specialist at Duke's Auctioneers, said: "It was a fantastic sale and not one lot failed to sell. The couple were in the room watching it all happen, smiling away. They were absolutely over the moon with the result which was double the pre-sale estimate. Unsurprisingly, they went off to celebrate.
"I think they plan to spend some of the money on more renovations to the house and they have a child who is starting university so I think this will also help with that. I knew the gold coins would sell for high prices but the silver James I coins did very well and bidding was really strong on them. Their condition was pretty good and you could see good detail and that made a big difference with the collectors who were bidding."
The Fookes bought the cottage in 2019 but didn't move in at first while they carried out renovation work. Mr Fooks found the hoard in October 2019 but the identification process took several years to complete.
Mrs Fooks said: "It is a 400-year-old house so there was lots of work to do. We were taking all the floors and ceilings out and took it back to its stone walls. We decided to lower the ground floor to give us more ceiling height.
"One evening, I was with the children and my husband was digging with a pick axe when he called to say they've found something. He put all the coins in a bucket and brought them home to me. If we hadn't lowered the floor they would still be hidden there.
"It is amazing and fascinating (to find the hoard). I presume they were buried during the English Civil War and the person intended to retrieve them but never got the chance."