A woman's hopes of becoming a billionaire were left in tatters - after a 'priceless gem' turned out to be worth just 3p.
Toni Hopley thought she was in line for a fortune when her dad found what appeared to be a precious stone embedded in a tree stump in the garden.
The family family took the item to the jewellers to get to the bottom of what the mystery jewel was.
Measured at roughly 8.7mm a legitimate ruby of this size could sell for up to £38,000, according to current market prices.
Toni's dreams, however, were dashed when jewellers revealed the piece was in fact costume jewellery - worth just three pence.
With the suspense of possibly becoming a billionaire, thousands of social media users were left on the edges of their seats as they followed Toni's adventure to get to the bottom of whether the piece held some value.
Toni shared a series of posts to Facebook earlier this month following her family's discovery, writing: "My dad was digging out this old tree stump in our back garden and this thing was embedded into the trunk.
"Does anybody know what it is, and if we're now billionaires?
"Or should I cancel our helicopter ride to a private yacht with a Chinese banquet and personal cocktail service whilst we travel around the world?"
In an update, Toni continued: "We're taking it to a jewellers on Wednesday, so I'll report back either from the Bahamas or from the corner or my bedroom whilst crying"
Toni gave her final update on the mystery gem yesterday, writing: "So from the beautiful, gorgeous, sunny Hawaii, someone is reading this post while I sink a pint at my local Wetherspoons because my gem is worth all of three pence. It's costume jewellery, sorry guys."
The series of posts has now received over 24,000 likes with more than 10,000 comments. Social media users were engrossed by the saga and were quick to speculate that the mysterious gem could be an "Edwardian" ring and maybe even a "ruby".
When the bad news was delivered, users were sad and sent their condolences to Toni. One person replied: "I was so rooting for you.
"Hoping it was ridiculously valuable and you would be in the VIP lounge at the nearest airport going to Barbados as you updated us. "Thanks for giving us a good story and enjoy Wetherspoons."
One commented: "Never mind, the sun is shining and you have a drink in hand. Life's still good, enjoy."
