Gold coins from the Tudor period

A family from the south of England made a bombshell find. While pulling weeds in their garden, they discovered gold coins from the Tudor period. The depot has already been registered by the British Museum.

Sixty-three gold and one silver coin were discovered by a family in the garden of their home in the New Forest in the south of England. The finders wish to remain anonymous, which the media has accepted. They discovered the hoard during routine work on their property, pulling weeds. The coin dates from the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The find has already been registered by the British Museum.

The hoard contains coins from the reign of Henry VIII. They bear the initials of the king's wives, Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour. This is quite unusual. John Naylor of the Ashmoleon Museum said that the coins were probably hidden by wealthy merchants or clergy fearful of Henry VIII when he tried to take control of the Church's property.

"Two possibilities are most likely. Namely, that the coins were in the possession of a merchant because the local part of England was one of the wealthier ones. For example, because of the trade in wool, which was a desirable commodity. In addition, the New Forest was close to the coast and very close to some important ports, so it is quite possible that the owner of the coins was someone involved in such a trade," Naylor said.

Something else could have played a role, he said. "It is a fact that in the late 1930s and 1940s there was a liquidation of some monasteries. We know that some of the faithful tried to hide their wealth in the hope of being able to retrieve it at some point," Naylor outlined another possibility.

Initial estimates put the depot's value at fourteen thousand pounds. According to Ian Richardson, who is in charge of treasure registration at the British Museum, the coronavirus pandemic has led to an increase in the number of interesting finds. "People have been spending more time at home and doing more searching or work that they don't usually have that much time for. Suddenly, finds like newly found coins started to multiply," Richardson stated.

The British Museum has registered 47,000 discoveries since the pandemic broke out. During the first wave, when the UK had major restrictions, there were 6251 finds. Still, enthusiasts have at least searched with metal detectors near their homes. The British Museum also reported that 81,602 archaeological finds were recorded last year, an increase of about ten thousand from the previous year.

"Even in these difficult times, when the world is paralysed by the coronavirus pandemic, prospectors continue to take to the field withmetal detectors to secure finds important to British history," concluded Michael Lewis, head of treasures at the British Museum.

Sources: www.dailyecho.co.uk, www.dailymail.co.uk