Repair Man Stumbled Upon $660,000 In Gold By Accident

The key to a good story is mystery, a golden hoard, and strange circumstances. Luckily for Martin Backhouse and a community college in the United Kingdom, their tale has it all.

Backhouse, a 61 year-old piano technician, was called in by Bishop's Castle community college in Shropshire, UK to service the school's piano which had been sounding out of tune for some time. Little did he know that the source of the trouble would be the start of a puzzling discovery.

Concealed inside the 110 year-old instrument were more than 900 gold coins originating from 1847-1915. Called sovereigns, these coins are often valued at several hundred dollars apiece, and at over 13 lbs of pure gold and silver are the largest ever gold coin find in Britain.

While Backhouse has experience dealing with antique instruments, his interest as an amateur archaeologist led to his careful examination and ultimate discovery.

"I thought ‘what’s that packaging underneath? That’s old," says Backhouse, "Then I noticed it was very nicely stitched. I thought ‘well, that can’t be moth balls’."

The find was valued by the British Museum as over half a million US dollars, but this is where it gets really bizarre.

Read the full story on Shared.com.

Photo: Shared.com


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