Pensioner finds suitcase of gold and silver behind the sofa

Sarah Coles
An auctioneer was stunned when he carried out a routine house clearance and found a hoard of gold and silver worth over £35,000 stashed in a SUITCASE. See NTI story NTICOINS. Jonathan Humbert was told the elderly woman had "a few gold coins" but found a suitcase weighing over 40kg (88lbs) behind a sofa filled with treasures. The lady, who did not wish to be named, said a "close relative" invested in the treasures and left them to her when they passed away. But the stash, which was amassed over a decade ago in Towcester, Northants., has since quadrupled in value. There were over a hundred 22-carat gold sovereigns, which cost £200 each, and 17 solid silver bars weighing 1kg (2lbs) that are each worth £450. Mr Humbert found several kilos of coins - including 22-carat gold Krugerrand that fetch up to £1,200 per ounce - as well as solid silver, half-silver and 22-carat gold British coins. It took staff at JP Humbert Auctioneers an entire day to sort out the trove on January 25 before it went for auction on Tuesday (31/1).



An incredible haul of gold sovereigns and solid silver coins and bars has been discovered just sitting in a suitcase behind a sofa. An elderly woman had just inherited a house and its contents from a relative, and she called an auctioneer to come and help clear it out. What he found was jaw-dropping.

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Auctioneer Jonathan Humbert told the Daily Mail that most of the contents of the property were fairly mundane, but that eventually the owner mentioned there were a few gold coins in a holdall behind the sofa. He opened the suitcase and fund it packed with the treasures - weighing over 40kg.

An auctioneer was stunned when he carried out a routine house clearance and found a hoard of gold and silver worth over £35,000 stashed in a SUITCASE. See NTI story NTICOINS. Jonathan Humbert was told the elderly woman had "a few gold coins" but found a suitcase weighing over 40kg (88lbs) behind a sofa filled with treasures. The lady, who did not wish to be named, said a "close relative" invested in the treasures and left them to her when they passed away. But the stash, which was amassed over a decade ago in Towcester, Northants., has since quadrupled in value. There were over a hundred 22-carat gold sovereigns, which cost £200 each, and 17 solid silver bars weighing 1kg (2lbs) that are each worth £450. Mr Humbert found several kilos of coins - including 22-carat gold Krugerrand that fetch up to £1,200 per ounce - as well as solid silver, half-silver and 22-carat gold British coins. It took staff at JP Humbert Auctioneers an entire day to sort out the trove on January 25 before it went for auction on Tuesday (31/1).



The Sun reported that the owner had no idea of the value amassed by her relative - who was something of a collector - as they had been bought before the price of gold shot up. However, amongst the enormous haul were some highly prized items - including solid gold British sovereigns and 22-carat gold Krugerrand.

Some of them went up for auction this week as separate lots, and were sold to buyers around the world. The lots went for between £190 and £480, and the rest will be up for sale soon. The whole lot will be worth tens of thousands of pounds.

Buried treasure

While most of us can only dream about finding treasure lying around at home, there have been some lucky souls who have stumbled across fortunes.

The most striking was back in 2014, when a couple from Northern California was with their dogs in the back garden, when they noticed a metal object sticking out from under a tree. They dug up what turned out to be eight cans of gold coins, which dated back to the 19th century. They eventually sold them for more than $4 million.

Last year, meanwhile, a couple from New Lanark revealed that they had bought a pair of chairs at auction for £5, and put them in the loft, because they couldn't afford to have them recovered. When they saved up enough a few years later, they found £5,000 of diamond jewellery lurking under the old fabric.

And back in January we reported on a hoard of gold that had been found hidden in a piano in Shropshire. The experts thought the gold items had been hidden by their owner - and after their death their relatives sold the piano, without realising that was hidden inside.

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