Rare Coins Found In Garden Sell For Nearly Half A Million Dollars
Language
Reading Level
Listen to Article
Alignment
A hoard of 15th and 16th-century coins found in a Southern England backyard sold for over $440,000 to multiple bidders at a Swiss auction on November 5, 2025. The final price far exceeded the auctioneer’s estimate of about $300,000.
The homeowners, who wish to remain anonymous, stumbled upon the treasure while gardening during the COVID-19 lockdown in April 2020. As they dug near a flower bed, they noticed a lump of sticky, heavy soil. A closer look revealed 63 gold coins and a single silver coin. In October 2021, archeologists found six more coins in the area, bringing the total to 70.
The collection, now known as the New Forest Hoard, was no ordinary treasure. The coins covered nearly a century of English history. They spanned from the early 1400s, when Henry VII was king, to the early 1500s, when Henry VIII ruled. Some coins bore the initials of Henry VIII's wives, while others displayed important people of the time. Back then, the coins were worth about $34 — a lot of money for those days.
The family initially sent their find to the British Museum. But due to COVID-19 restrictions, the museum was unable to buy them. They were returned to the family, who later decided to auction them at Numismatica Ars Classica in Zurich, Switzerland. According to the auction catalog, it was "the only complete and fully documented gold coin hoard from the early Tudor period ever to have been sold at auction."
The New Forest Hoard was not the only remarkable treasure find in England during the COVID-19 lockdown. Another couple unearthed 50 South African coins in their garden as well. Minted in the 1970s, the solid-gold coins had been stored inside a coffee tin. How the tin ended up buried there remains a mystery. At the time of discovery, the coins were estimated to be worth as much as $130,000!
Resources: Smithsonianmag.com, numisbids.com, theguardian.com
Cite Article
Learn Keywords in this Article
6 Comments
chocolaterose75about 15 hoursI honestly don't think it is worth it.
kunifiwipahiabout 17 hoursthis is what my brother would like to find; he already has a huge coin collection- mouskadudeabout 18 hoursPOV: finding 130,000 dollars worth of coins in your garden💀😎
ilovehenrydsafabout 19 hoursDude, that's actually incredible 😭
bookworm53about 19 hoursSoooooooooooooooo cool that's a lot of money
supersonic10aabout 21 hourscool the person who found them is now rich