A Dorset couple received an unexpected surprise during their kitchen renovation at their cottage. Becky and Robert Fooks, while working on their farmhouse, uncovered a broken glazed pottery bowl filled with coins dating back 400 years.
Becky mentioned that as they were renovating the ancient house, they decided to increase the ceiling height by removing the concrete floor. While Robert was digging with a pickaxe, he stumbled upon the hidden coins and collected them in a bucket. Becky expressed that if they hadn’t lowered the floor, the coins would have remained undiscovered, speculating that the original owner likely intended to retrieve them but never had the chance.
Upon closer inspection the next day, Becky noticed the age and condition of the coins, some of which were gold and easily legible. The coins, including James I and Charles I gold coins and Elizabeth I silver shillings, were believed by the British Museum to have been hidden during the English Civil War era by a landowner protecting their wealth.
The Fooks family found the coins in October 2019 while renovating their 17th-century long-house in a small Dorset hamlet. Julian Smith of Duke’s auctioneers explained that the coins were buried in an area where the modern concrete floor had been removed, revealing bare earth.
The British Museum is currently identifying and cleaning the coins, noting that they were likely deposited at once. This fortunate discovery comes after another couple found a hidden room in their 1960s home while renovating, uncovering a stocked wine cellar behind a secret door. The unexpected find has sparked excitement and interest from viewers on social media.
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