the tally to 70. Specialists found the gold almost undamaged despite centuries underground.
The British Museum classified the discovery as treasure in 2021, but pandemic-related budget freezes prevented an institutional purchase, so ownership reverted to the landowners. English law allowed them to consign the coins once they were released.
Numismatists observed that the mix of denominations reflected the turbulence of the 1530s. Some pieces bore the initials of Henry VIII’s first and third wives, Catherine of Aragon and Jane Seymour. The most recent coin dated to 1536–1537, during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, leading experts to suspect that a wealthy cleric hid the money to protect it from confiscation.
The family planned to spend a small portion of the proceeds on a billiard table and a holiday, Guest said, noting that the remainder would be invested.
With the coins now dispersed among private collectors, scholars must rely on the auction catalogue and images for future study.A bidding surge in Zurich drove the hammer total for a Tudor gold hoard from southern England to £467,215, or about 900 million Korean won. Catalogued as the New Forest Hoard, the coins were offered in small lots of mostly five pieces and doubled the presale high estimate of £230,000.
“Amazing coins were sold to bidders from around the world. It exceeded my expectations,” said auctioneer David Guest, according to Korea Economic Daily. He added that the family who found the cache were “overwhelmed with surprise” and felt “it’s like winning the lottery.”
The standout lot, a Jane Seymour Gold Crown struck in 1536, fetched £17,000. A Henry VIII Gold Angel and a Henry VIII Gold Sovereign each realized £15,000, while a Catherine of Aragon piece brought £8,000.
Guest noted that the fortune equaled about £26 when buried, roughly the price of a house in the 1530s. “Very few people in England at that time would have seen gold coins,” he said.
The hoard surfaced in April 2020 when a couple clearing their garden near Milford-on-Sea, Hampshire, uncovered 63 gold coins and one silver coin. An archaeological revisit in October 2021 produced six more gold pieces, bringing
Written with the help of a news-analysis system.