A woman who cleared out her late husband’s chest of drawers was stunned when she found an old coin inside worth £120,000.
The unidentified widow had no idea her husband had the gold piece stashed away among his clothes and didn’t think it was valuable at first.
It was only when an expert inspected it that it was revealed to be a ‘lost’ coin made from gold seized by the British from a Spanish treasure ship in 1702.
Worth its weight in gold! The coins value was only realised when an expert revealed it to be a 'lost' coin minted from gold seized by the British from a Spanish treasure ship at the battle of Vigo in 1702
To celebrate the victory over an adversory, the Royal mint had about 20 Queen Anne Vigo five guinea coins made.
The coins, that have the Queen’s bust on one side, would have been very expensive at the time and became a collectable item. Of the 20 that were struck, only 15 are known of and they are in private hands.
It is thought the woman’s late husband inherited the exceptionally rare coin as he showed no interest in coin collecting when he was alive.
The pensioner, from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, is now selling the item at auction.
It has a pre-sale estimate of between £80,000 to £120,000.
Leslie Gillham, of auctioneers Gorringes, said: 'A client of ours asked to bring in some coins that she had found at home.
The series of Vigo coins were made out of 7.5lbs of gold seized from a Spanish galleon.
After the British failed to capture Cadiz in October 1702, the fleet intercepted a Spanish treasure ships coming back from America in Vigo Bay.
Raid: The gold was taken from a Spanish treasure ship coming back from America in Vigo Bay following a failed attempt to take Cadiz
The British attacked Spanish fleet and captured the gold and silver on board.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2233806/Buried-treasure-Widow-discovers-rare-coin-worth-120-000--late-husbands-chest-drawers.html#ixzz2CcOvpLNC
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