A couple who discovered 260 gold coins while renovating their kitchen have sold the collection for an incredible £745,000 at auction. The money was found stashed in a pot underneath the 18th century floorboards at the pair's Ellerby home in 2019, with the coins dating back from 1610 to 1727.
The gold originally belonged to the Fernley-Maisters, a Hull family who made their fortune in Baltic trading. They were known for their involvement in the importing and exporting of timber, coal and iron ore, with latter generations serving as Members of Parliament in the early 1700s.
The money was collected by Joseph Fernley and his wife Sarah Maister over the course of their marriage. Joseph died in 1725 while his widow, Sarah, passed away aged 80 in 1745.
