A SECRET stash of gold coins dating back to King Henry VIII’s reign have been found in an English garden.
Experts think a priest could have hidden the coins back in the 1540s.
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The treasure was unearthed when a family were weeding their garden in the New Forest district of Hampshire.
Some of the coins date back to the 1400s and some show depictions of the infamous Henry VIII and Kind Edward IV.
King Henry VIII’s reigned over England from 1509 till 1547 when he died.
The stash contains 63 gold coins and one silver coin that were minted over a period of 100 years.
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It’s likely they were being used as currency in the late 15th to the 16th centuries before being buried for safe keeping.
Four of the rare gold coins depicting Henry VIII also have the initials of three of his wives inscribed on them.
The initials seem to stand for his first three wives Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour.
It seems that Henry VIII wanted to put the initials of whoever his wife was at the time on his coins but stopped this practice after Jane.
Henry famously divorced Catherine, beheaded Anne and lost Jane when she died after giving birth to their son.
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The family who found the treasure contacted the British Museum because of its Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) that works with people in the UK who find important artefacts.
The British Museum said in a statement: “63 gold coins and 1 silver coin of Edward IV through to Henry VIII, and deposited in about 1540, were uncovered in the New Forest area, Hampshire as the finders pulled out weeds in their garden.
“Ranging across nearly a century, dating from the late 15th to early 16th centuries, the hoard includes four coins from Henry VIII’s reign, unusually featuring the initials of his wives Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour.
“The total value of the coins far exceeds the average annual wage in the Tudor period, but it is not yet clear whether this was a saving hoard which was regularly deposited into or if the coins were buried all at once.”
Barrie Cook, a curator of medieval and early modern coins at the British Museum, told The Guardian that the value of the coins was around £24 in the Tudor period.
The equates to $18,600 (£14,000) today.
However, they’re now considered priceless and invaluable artefacts.
Experts think a merchant or clergy member buried the coins when they were trying to hide their wealth.
The golden coins are just one of 47,000 finds documented by the PAS this year.
What happened to King Henry VIII’s wives?
Some were luckier than others…
Catherine of Aragon – divorced
Anne Boleyn – beheaded
Jane Seymour – died
Anne of Cleves – divorced
Catherine Howard – beheaded
Catherine Parr – survived
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
