Rare gold coin found in secret chest drawer
ARARE 14th century gold coin, found hidden in a wooden chest, is set to fetch up to £3,000 at auction.
Mother-of-three Amy Clapp, 37, had been left the George IIstyle bureau, worth just £60, by a long lost cousin in a will.
But something of much greater value was uncovered when the 37-year-old had the chest inspected by an expert.
Edward Rycroft, furniture valuer at Derbyshire auctioneers Hansons, found a 650-year-old, 22ct Raymond IV Prince of Orange Franc in a secret drawer.
Mr Rycroft said: “I know bureaus like this often have tiny, secret drawers – sometimes called coin drawers – so I always check them just in case.
“But in ten years of valuing furniture I have never found anything in them – until now.
“I’m delighted for the family. The coin’s worth a tune.
“I knew straight away it was gold and really special. It’s the most amazing thing I have ever found by chance.
“If you’ve got an old bureau at home, do check for secret drawers – you never know, you may be sitting on a windfall, too.”
The coin dates back to 1365 and has a guide price of £1,200 to £1,800, but experts believe it could sell for as much as £3,000.
Mrs Clapp, a family support worker who lives near Swadlincote, Burton, with husband Gary, 53, said: “I’m delighted.
“I was working in London when Edward phoned me.
“As a family, we’ve had some bad luck in the last two years, so for something like this to happen to us is amazing.
“My 18-year-old daughter, Abi was recently registered as severely sight impaired.
“She has Bardet-Biedl
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syn- drome, a genetic condition which effects vision as well as other parts of the body. I work for the Bardet-Biedl Syndrome UK charity and I’ll be donating some proceeds from the sale to it.
“I would never have found that coin in a million years.
“We’re so grateful to Edward. We recently blew all our savings on a car and its engine blew up shortly after we bought it, so any windfall is very welcome.
“I can’t even remember meeting my great cousin but I received a letter from a solicitor before Christmas informing me that I’d been left various items of furniture.
“Apparently, the written when I was old.”
The bureau, worth around £80, was due to be sold at Hansons, in, Etwall, Derbyshire, this week, while the gold coin will go into Hansons’ Coins Auction on March 21. will was 13-years-