A Dorset couple renovating their farmhouse kitchen have unearthed a hoard of more than 1,000 coins from the 17th century, expected to fetch around £35,000 at auction.
Betty and Robert Fooks were lowering the concrete floor to increase ceiling height at their property in October 2019 when Robert, an agricultural engineer, discovered a smashed glazed pottery bowl filled with 400-year-old coins. The couple reported the find to the local finds liaison officer, and the hoard was sent to the British Museum for cleaning and identification.
Now known as the Poorton hoard, the collection includes gold coins of James I and Charles I, silver half crowns, shillings and sixpences, as well as Elizabeth I and Philip and Mary silver shillings and sixpences. Julian Smith, specialist at Duke's auctioneers in Dorchester, said the coins appear to have been deposited on a single occasion.
Betty Fooks, an NHS health visitor, said: 'One evening, I was with the children and my husband was digging with a pick axe when he called to say they've found something. He put all the coins in a bucket. If we hadn't lowered the floor, they would still be hidden there. I presume the person intended to retrieve them but never got the chance.'
The coins will be sold by Duke's auctioneers later this year. The farmhouse, a 17th-century long-house in west Dorset, was purchased by the Fooks in 2019 and underwent extensive renovation.
