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Rare Coins Found In Garden Sell For Nearly Half A Million Dollars

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A couple in England found 70 coins while gardening (Credit: numisbids.com/ CC-BY-SA-2.0)

A hoard of 15th and 16th-century coins found in a Southern England backyard sold for over $440,000 to multiple bidders at a Swiss auction on November 5, 2025. The final price far exceeded the auctioneer’s estimate of about $300,000.

The homeowners, who wish to remain anonymous, stumbled upon the treasure while gardening during the COVID-19 lockdown in April 2020. As they dug near a flower bed, they noticed a lump of sticky, heavy soil. A closer look revealed 63 gold coins and a single silver coin. In October 2021, archeologists found six more coins in the area, bringing the total to 70.

Coins from the reign of Henry VII (Credit: numisbids.com/ CC-BY-SA-2.0)

The collection, now known as the New Forest Hoard, was no ordinary treasure. The coins covered nearly a century of English history. They spanned from the early 1400s, when Henry VII was king, to the early 1500s, when Henry VIII ruled. Some coins bore the initials of Henry VIII's wives, while others displayed important people of the time. Back then, the coins were worth about $30 — a lot of money for those days.

The family initially sent their find to the British Museum. But due to COVID-19 restrictions, the museum was unable to buy them. They were returned to the family, who later decided to auction them at Numismatica Ars Classica in Zurich, Switzerland. According to the auction catalog, it was "the only complete and fully documented gold coin hoard from the early Tudor period ever to have been sold at auction."

Coins bearing the initial of one of Henry VIII's wife (Credit: numisbids.com/ CC-BY-SA-2.0)

The New Forest Hoard was not the only remarkable treasure find in England during the COVID-19 lockdown. Another couple unearthed 50 South African coins in their garden as well. Minted in the 1970s, the solid-gold coins had been stored inside a coffee tin. How the tin ended up buried there remains a mystery. At the time of discovery, the coins were estimated to be worth as much as $130,000!

Resources: Smithsonianmag.com, numisbids.com, theguardian.com

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