400-year-old gold coin from reign of King Charles I found in loose change
A 400-year-old gold coin that was found in a pile of loose change may fetch up to £2,000 when auctioned.
The 12-shilling piece was discovered hidden among around 200 gold coins and bank notes at the back of a dressing table drawer in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
The piece, bearing a portrait of King Charles I, was inherited by the owner, who ‘tossed it into a box of mixed 20th century coins’ thinking it was a fake.
But it eventually ended up in the hands of antiques expert Robin Fletcher, of Hansons Auctioneers, who revealed it is actually worth between £1,500 and £2,000.
He said: ‘As I was told it was a fake I didn’t do a close inspection until I got it back to the office.
‘I then realised I’d struck gold. I phoned the seller to let her know. She was surprised and delighted to hear the valuation.
‘It was amazing to pluck out a 400-year-old Charles I gold coin from a mish-mash of mainly low value coins.
‘We will never know how this historical gem ended up languishing in a dressing table drawer for, probably for decades.’
Charles I (1600-1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from March 27, 1625 until his execution in 1649.
Dating back to around 1625, the 20-shilling piece is known as a ‘unite’ coin.
The unite is the second oldest English gold coin, first produced during the reign of King James I.
It was named after the legends on the coin which indicated the king’s intention of uniting the two kingdoms of England and Scotland
The coin in question is one produced at the Tower Mint at the beginning of the reign of King Charles I, who ascended the throne after the death of his father.
It will be offered in Hansons Royal Tunbridge Wells inaugural auction on May 23.
Robin added: ‘Gold sometimes gets overlooked when it’s discovered by chance as people automatically assume they can’t be lucky enough to have found the real thing.
‘Many people have piles of old coins stuck in drawers or tins at home, perhaps inherited and added to by various relatives over many decades. As well as plenty of pre-decimal British coins we see lots of holiday money gathered from all over the world.
‘Often coins have little value but, along the way, perhaps an ancestor in the family picked up a rarity or two that could worth more than their weight in gold.
‘Coin collecting was, and still is, popular. The problem with coins is that they’re so small they can get forgotten. They end up hidden away at the back of drawers, lost under sofa cushions or even left in pockets.
‘I’d advise anyone with old coins sitting around at home to go through them carefully and call in the experts to double check they’re value.’
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