Perched on the west bank of the Nile river, just 55km south of Luxor, the 2,000-year-old Temple of Esna continues to dazzle visitors with a hall of 24 pillars beautifully adorned with lotus-leaf capitals, each one unique in design. The walls are covered with reliefs of Ptolemaic and Roman Emperors dressed in Pharaoh costumes and the roof is decorated with astronomical representations, including the Dog Star, Orion's Belt and Alpha Draconis.

Just behind the majestic edifice, which is also known as the Temple of Khnum, a team of researchers from Egypt's Supreme Council for Archaeology recently unearthed a cache of hundreds of silver, gold, bronze and copper coins minted throughout 600-plus years of the Islamic era, starting in 610 A.D. and ending in 1258 A.D.

During the year-long excavation, the researchers cataloged 286 gold and silver coins dating back to the eras of 19 kings and sultans. They also found "foreign" currency linked to the era of King Levon II of Armenia (1150 - 1219 A.D.), along with bronze and copper coins from the Ottoman era, which dates back to the end of the 13th century A.D.

The ancient Egyptians minted dirhams and half dirhams, and interestingly, the dirham is the monetary unit still used in Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.

Molds and weights related to the minting process were also discovered hidden behind the temple, according to a translated statement published on the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities' Facebook page.

The researchers are continuing to unravel the Temple of Esna's mysteries, including why the valuable hoard of coins was abandoned. With digging still in progress, Dr. Mustafa Waziri, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, expects there is more treasure still waiting to be found.

Credits: Detailed look at the Temple of Esna's columns by Panegyrics of Granovetter, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Temple photo by Roland Unger, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Coin photos courtesy of Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Living just 30 miles from Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, AR, has its perks — especially if you're an amateur treasure hunter.

Over the past four years, Scott Kreykes of Dierks, AR, has registered more than 80 diamonds at the park, including his 50th of 2022. Even though it was only a 4-pointer, the pearl-shaped gem he found earlier this month was certified as the 35,000th diamond unearthed by visitors since the state park opened in 1972.

For this achievement, Kreykes was rewarded with a free two-night stay at an Arkansas State Park, recognition from Murfreesboro officials and a special display for his diamond and registration card.

Earlier this month, Kreykes had spent a day at the park sifting soil from the East Drain area of the 37½-acre search field, which is actually the exposed eroded surface of an ancient diamond-bearing kimberlite pipe. Amateur miners get to keep what they find at the only diamond site in the world that’s open to the general public.

What's more, visitors are allowed to take home one five-gallon bucket of sifted gravel to inspect later and, on this day, that's exactly what Kreykes decided to do.

"Some visitors like to resift their gravel at home or wait for it to dry to look for the metallic shine of a diamond,” explained Park Interpreter Tayler Markham.

While searching through his gravel at home, Kreykes spotted a sparkly, pearl-shaped stone and excitedly called his wife over to show her. He knew the park was preparing to celebrate the 35,000th diamond milestone and was hopeful that he would register the winning gem.

As he left his home to return to the park on the morning of September 6, he slipped his sparkler into a glass vial and told his wife, “This could be the 35,000th diamond!”

Kreykes carried his gem to the park’s Diamond Discovery Center, where staff registered it as a 4-point white diamond.

Kreykes told park officials that he had goosebumps upon learning that his find was the milestone diamond.

Many people who find diamonds at Crater of Diamonds State Park choose to name their gems. Kreykes chose "Leo" in honor of his grandson.

So far in 2022, 510 diamonds have been registered at Crater of Diamonds State Park. That's an average of about two per day.

“It’s amazing to work at a place with so much history,” Park Superintendent Caleb Howell said. “Every diamond found here has a story to go along with it, but milestones like this remind us of just how many discoveries park visitors have made over the past 50 years.”

Interestingly, the park reached its 10,000th diamond milestone in 1986 and its 30,000th in 2012.

Over the past 50 years, Crater of Diamonds State Park has hosted more than 4.5 million visitors and registered more than 1,000 diamonds topping 1 carat in weight.

The largest diamond ever discovered in the United States was unearthed in 1924 during an early mining operation at the Murfreesboro site. Named the Uncle Sam, this white diamond with a pink cast weighed 40.23 carats. It was later cut into a 12.42-carat emerald shape. The Uncle Sam is now part of the Smithsonian’s mineral and gem collection and can be seen at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. A marker at the park tells the story of Uncle Sam and points to the exact spot the gem was found.

Credits: Images courtesy of Arkansas State Parks.

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you outstanding songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, British rocker Billy Idol performs “Sweet Sixteen,” a song inspired by the tragic love story of Edward Leedskalnin and the girl who left him at the altar.

Idol takes on the role of Leedskalnin as he sings, “I’ll do anything / For my sweet sixteen / And I’ll do anything / For little run away child / Gave my heart an engagement ring / She took ev’rything / Ev’rything I gave her / Oh sweet sixteen.”

Leedskalnin, a 26-year-old Latvian, was engaged to Agnes Scuffs in 1923. One day before their scheduled wedding, Scuffs, who was 10 years his junior, broke off the engagement.

Devastated by their parting, Leedskalnin emigrated to the US, where he bought a piece of land in south Florida and for the next 25 years single-handedly sculpted 1,100 short tons of coral rock into a fanciful castle complex. He dedicated “Rock Gate Park” to Scuffs, who he called his “Sweet Sixteen,” but could never win her back.

Idol visited Rock Gate Park, which had been renamed Coral Castle, in the early 1980s and was so intrigued by Leedskalnin’s story that he decided to write a song about it. Framed photos of Idol’s visit are featured in the Coral Castle gift shop in Homestead, FL.

Idol references the incredible coral sculptures Leedskalnin built in her honor. Even to this day, a mystery surrounds how the amateur sculptor — who was 5 feet tall, weighed 100 pounds and managed only a 4th grade education — was able to carve the huge boulders and move them without any outside help. The attraction is on the National Register of Historic Places.

“Sweet Sixteen” was the fourth track on Idol’s Whiplash Smile album, which sold more than one million copies and peaked at #6 on the US Billboard 200 in 1986. The single reached #20 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the official video has been viewed on YouTube more than 23 million times.

Idol was a key member of the MTV-fueled “Second British Invasion” of the United States back in the early 1980s. Among his most popular songs from that era are “Dancing with Myself,” “White Wedding,” “Rebel Yell” and “Eyes Without a Face.” The 66-year-old rocker is still actively touring.

Check out the official video for “Sweet Sixteen.” During the first 10 seconds of the video one can see a photo of Leedskalnin standing inside his complex under the title, “Love Turned to Stone.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“Sweet Sixteen”
Written and performed by Billy Idol.

I’ll do anything
For my sweet sixteen,
And I’ll do anything
For little runaway child

Gave my heart an engagement ring.
She took ev’rything.
Ev’rything I gave her,
Oh sweet sixteen.

Built a moon
For a rocking chair.
I never guessed it would
Rock her far from here
Oh, oh, oh, oh.

Someone’s built a candy castle
For my sweet sixteen.
Someone’s built a candy brain
And filled it in.

Well I’ll do anything
For my sweet sixteen
Oh I’ll do anything
For little runaway child

Well, memories will burn you.
Memories grow older as people can
They just get colder
Like sweet sixteen

Oh, I see it’s clear
Baby, that you are
All through here
Oh, oh, oh, oh.

Someone’s built a candy castle
For my sweet sixteen,
Someone’s built a candy house
To house her in.
Someone’s built a candy castle
For my sweet sixteen.
Someone’s built a candy brain
And filled it in.

And I do anything
For my sweet sixteen
Oh, I do anything
For little runaway girl.

Yeah, sad and lonely and blue.
Yeah, gettin’ over you.
How, how do you think it feels
Yeah to get up in the morning, get over you.
Up in the morning, get over you.
Wipe away the tears, get over you,
get over, get over…

My sweet sixteen
Oh runaway child
Oh sweet sixteen
Little runaway girl.

Gave my heart an engagement ring
She left everything
Everything I gave her
Sweet sixteen
Built a moon
For a rocking chair,
Never guessed it would
Rock her far from here
Oh, oh, oh

Someone’s built a candy castle
For my sweet sixteen.
Someone’s built a candy house
To house her in.
Someone’s built a candy castle
For my sweet sixteen
Someone’s built a candy house
To house her in.

And I’ll do anything
For my sweet sixteen
Oh, I’ll do anything
For little runaway child.

Do anything
For my sweet sixteen
I’ll do anything
For little runaway girl
Little runaway girl
Oh sweet sixteen
Oh sweet sixteen
Oh.

Credits: Billy Idol photo by DoD News, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Coral Castle photo by Barry haynes, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Fura Gems just unveiled "Estrela de Fura," a rough 101-carat, gem-quality ruby that's being described as a "once in a century" discovery. The company's chief executive believes the rough gem, which was unearthed in Mozambique, could eventually yield a faceted stone weighing 50 carats or more.

If that's true and the quality of the stone is on par with the 25.59-carat, cushion-cut “Sunrise Ruby” that sold at auction in 2015 for $30.4 million, Estrela de Fura (Portuguese for "Star of Fura") may be worth $50 million or more in its final polished form.

Estrela de Fura will be looking to unseat the Sunrise Ruby, which currently holds two auction records: The largest sum ever paid for a ruby and the highest price-per-carat ever paid for a ruby ($1.19 million).

The international press got its first look at the pigeon-blood-red Estrela de Fura during yesterday's press conference at the lavish 68-story Almas Tower in Dubai.

Dev Shetty, Fura Gems' chief executive, told thenationalnews.com how he received a call from the company's master sorter, Balbir, on July 24. He had unlocked a storage box and spotted something large, red and shiny. The sorter told Shetty, who was in Bangkok at the time, "I think we found something amazing."

Dr. A. Peretti, CEO of GRS GemResearch Swisslab, confirmed the sorter's hunch.

"This ruby shows characteristics normally encountered only in the classical Mogok mines of Burma," he told khaleejtimes.com. "It possesses a fluorescence and vivid red color, and even excels in its excellent clarity. Estrela de Fura provides the potential to achieve the new world record of being the finest gem-quality ruby ever found with a size of over 50 carats once it goes through the final cutting process."

For the next 45 days, Fura Gems, which is billing Estrela de Fura as "the world's largest gem-quality ruby ever mined," will be setting up appointments for potential buyers to view and assess the stone at the Dubai Diamond Exchange. Shetty told thenationalnews.com that the potential buyer could represent a cutting house, jewelry brand, collector or even a museum. A private auction is set to take place in October.

The UAE-based Fura Gems currently mines rubies in Mozambique, emeralds in Colombia and sapphires in both Australia and Madagascar.

Credits: Estrela de Fura image courtesy of Fura Gems. Screen shot closeup via Twitter.com / Furagems.

Lonsdaleite, a mysterious hexagonal form of diamond that's even harder than the common cubic variety, is likely the result of a catastrophic collision between a dwarf planet and a large asteroid 4.5 billion years ago, according to a new study.

An international team of researchers confirmed the existence of the cosmic gem in slices of ureilite meteorites, a rare type of space rock that is believed to be material from the mantle of dwarf planets. The team studied 18 ureilite samples that had been sourced in northwest Africa and southern Australia.

“We have discovered the largest lonsdaleite crystals known to date that are up to a micron in size – much, much thinner than a human hair,” noted RMIT Professor Dougal McCulloch, who was one of the senior researchers involved in the study.

So far, the exact hardness of lonsdaleite has been difficult to confirm because the minute sample sizes do not allow for a scratch test. Lonsdaleite is believed to be 58% harder than an Earth-sourced diamond, which is saying a lot because conventional diamonds register a perfect 10 on the Mohs hardness scale. Might the scale need to be amended in the future to include a 10+ or an 11?

McCulloch and his team from RMIT University, Monash University, Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the Australian Synchrotron and Plymouth University used advanced electron microscopy techniques to study the slices of ureilite and create snapshots of how lonsdaleite and regular diamonds formed in those samples virtually side by side. The study was led by geologist Professor Andy Tomkins, an ARC Future Fellow at Monash University’s School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment.

“There’s strong evidence that there’s a newly discovered formation process for the lonsdaleite and regular diamond, which is like a supercritical chemical vapor deposition process that has taken place in these space rocks, probably in the dwarf planet shortly after a catastrophic collision,” McCulloch said.

“Chemical vapor deposition is one of the ways that people make diamonds in the lab, essentially by growing them in a specialized chamber,” he said.

The scientists believe that the lonsdaleite was somewhat replaced by diamonds as its environment cooled and pressure decreased.

In a related study from April of 2021, scientists at Washington State University’s Institute for Shock Physics blasted a dime-sized graphite disk at a wall at 15,000 mph (24,100 km/h) to emulate the high-energy impact that can turn carbon-based material into super-strong hexagonal diamonds.

The researchers learned that as soon as the disk crashed into a barrier, it was rapidly transformed into a hexagonal diamond. Immediately after impact — but before the material was obliterated — the researchers produced a small sound wave and used lasers to measure its movement through the hexagonal diamond. As a rule, sound moves fastest through stiffer materials, such as cubic diamonds. In this latest experiment, sound moved even faster through the lab-created hexagonal diamonds.

Based on that result, the scientist surmised that the hexagonal diamonds were stiffer than cubic diamonds. Stiffness is defined as a material’s ability to resist deformation under a force or pressure.

If these findings are backed up and lonsdaleite diamonds can be turned out commercially, these super-hard materials will likely find their way quickly into mining and industrial applications, such as drill bits and other cutting devices.

“Nature has thus provided us with a process to try and replicate in industry," said Tomkins.

The results of the most recent study were published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Credit: Professor Andy Tomkins (left) from Monash University with RMIT University PhD scholar Alan Salek and a ureilite meteor sample. Image courtesy of RMIT University. Urelite photo by Wilde-Kutsch, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

There are few things more "Awww" inspiring than witnessing the exact moment when couples young and old commit their lives to each other. And nearly every proposal we see in person or posted to social media includes that awkward scene where one partner gets down on bended knee and fumbles with a ring box while the other catches a first glimpse of a new bauble and hopefully answers "Yes" to the question "Will you marry me?"

The vast majority of proposals today are of the bended-knee variety, but did you ever wonder where and when that tradition originated?

Our expression of chivalry can trace its roots to the Middle Ages, when knights humbly bowed before noblewoman because kneeling was an act of respect, admiration and loyalty.

And for hundreds of years, the act of genuflection — bending a knee to the ground— has been tied to the church, where it is seen as a gesture of honor or worship.

In modern times, getting down on one knee symbolizes a humble willingness to commit one's life to another. It's a physical demonstration of propping up one's significant other into a superior position and offering oneself, both heart and soul, without reservations. It is the partner's choice whether or not to accept the proposal.

In The Knot’s 2019 Jewelry and Engagement Study, 84% of proposers reported that they went down on bended knee before proposing to their significant other.

The survey also revealed the prevalence of other enduring traditions. Nearly 90% asked their partner to marry them with a ring in hand, 87% said the words “will you marry me,” and 71% sought their partner’s parents' permission before proposing.

The website lovetoknow.com also cleverly pointed out that "a practical reason behind a bent-knee proposal is that it puts the engagement ring in an elevated position between the couple, letting the light hit it clearly without being blocked by both individuals."

Credit: Image by Bigstockphoto.com.

Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on Thursday at the age of 96, was famous for her dazzling collection of regal jewels. Britain's longest-reigning monarch possessed 98 brooches, 46 necklaces, 37 bracelets, 34 pairs of earrings, 15 rings, 14 watches and five pendants. But her favorite piece, without a doubt, was a deeply sentimental, three-strand pearl necklace — a gift from her beloved grandfather, King George V, who died in 1936.

For the past 70 years, the pearl necklace along with a complementary pair of diamond-accented pearl stud earrings had been the most recognizable part of Elizabeth's "official uniform," which often included a brightly colored two-piece suit, decorative hat and the classic Launer black leather Traviata handbag.

The future monarch was only nine years old when she received the three-strand, perfectly matched pearl necklace from her grandfather during his Silver Jubilee in 1935, one year before his death. The pearls represented one of Elizabeth's first pieces of "real" jewelry and remained a powerful reminder of the special bond they shared.

Elizabeth loved the three-strand pearl necklace so much that she arranged for an identical one to be made, and then in 1953, a third three-stand pearl necklace joined her collection. It was a gift from the Emir of Qatar and the only difference among the three was that this version sported a diamond clasp.

It was rumored that, over the years, she rotated the pearl necklaces freely so she wouldn't risk wearing out the prized original.

Her favorite pearl earrings were a wedding present from her beloved grandmother, Queen Mary, in 1947.

Since Elizabeth's death, the internet has been abuzz with theories on what will happen to her priceless jewels. Would they be distributed among her four children, eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren? Or would Elizabeth's eldest son, King Charles III, inherit all the treasure?

Since royal wills are sealed, there is no way to know right now how this will pan out, but a close follower of the Royal Family and its baubles believes she has the answer.

Lauren Kiehna of The Court Jeweller blog told Page Six Style that Elizabeth likely followed in the footsteps of her grandmother, Queen Mary (1867-1953), and her mother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (1900-2002), and bequeathed all of her jewelry directly to the new monarch, King Charles III.

“There are both historical and taxation-related benefits to this method of inheritance,” she explained.

If the jewelry was gifted to other individuals, she said, the items would be subject to a hefty inheritance tax.

Credit: Image by UK Government, OGL 3, via Wikimedia Commons.

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you sensational songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, we’re going to do our best to keep the summer alive with a fun song from Bon Jovi’s 2007 chart-topping Lost Highway album.

It’s called “Summertime” and includes this line… “I keep a postcard in the back of my mind / White sand, sunshine / And you shining like a brand new diamond.”

In the song, Jon Bon Jovi describes how his girlfriend reminds him of summertime. He reminisces about warm breezes, lazy days, beach blankets, a bottle of wine and his girlfriend sparkling like a precious stone.

“Like a first slow dance and a first long kiss,” he concludes, “there ain’t nothing, baby, better than this.”

Written by frontman Jon Bon Jovi, lead guitarist Richie Sambora and producer John Shanks, “Summertime” blended the best elements of rock and country music to create an upbeat, sing-along experience that had Bon Jovi fans dancing in the aisles. The song was featured on the Bon Jovi setlist from 2007 through 2011.

"Summertime" appeared as the second track from Lost Highway, Bon Jovi's 10th studio album. The group’s calculated maneuver into the country genre paid off big time as the album charted in 23 countries and made its debut at #1 on the US Billboard 200 Albums chart. It was the group’s first album to debut at #1 and was so well received that it went on to be nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2008 Grammy Awards.

John Francis Bongiovi, Jr., was born in Perth Amboy, NJ, in 1962. A blood relative of Frank Sinatra, the young Bon Jovi spent much of his youth skipping school to pursue musical activities. By the time he was 16, he was already playing in New Jersey clubs. A year later, while sweeping floors at his cousin Tony Bongiovi’s recording studio, Bon Jovi got the opportunity to sing on a Star Wars Christmas album. His first official credit was on a 1980 release called “R2-D2 We Wish You A Merry Christmas.”

By 1983, Bon Jovi had formed the group that bears his name. Over the past 39-plus years, the group has sold more than 120 million records and performed more than 2,700 concerts in 50 countries. Bon Jovi and Sambora were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009.

We hope you enjoy the video of Bon Jovi’s live performance of “Summertime.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“Summertime”
Written by Richie Sambora, John Shanks and Jon Bon Jovi. Performed by Bon Jovi.

Feels something like summertime
Top down and nothin’ but time
Radio’s on and your by my side
Feels something like summertime

These days life goes like this
Wake up, check that off of some list
Gotta be a little something more than this
The bottom of my coffee cup

I keep a postcard in the back of my mind
White sand, sunshine
And you shining like a brand new diamond
It’s keeping me for giving up
Thinking like I had enough

You make me feel something like summertime
Top down ain’t nothing but time
Radio’s on and you’re by my side
Feels something like summertime

Like a first slow dance and a first long kiss
There ain’t nothing, baby, better then this
It’s like a beach blanket and a bottle of wine
It feels something like summertime
Summertime

I was a warm breeze with a cool tan
Life mapped out on the back of my hand
When I was laughing I was making plans

But I didn’t laugh when I found you
There's a heaven baby your the proof

You make me feel something like summertime
Top down ain’t nothing but time
Radio’s on and you’re by my side
Feels something like summertime

Like a first slow dance and a first long kiss
There ain’t nothing, baby, better than this
It’s like a beach blanket and a bottle of wine
It feels something like summertime
(Sum-summer-summertime)

Feel something like summertime
Top down ain’t nothing but time
Radio’s on for me and my valentine

It’s like that first slow dance and that first long kiss
There ain’t nothing baby better then this
It’s like a beach blanket and a bottle of wine (Yeah)

Feels something like summertime
Top down ain’t nothing but time
Radio’s on and you’re by my side,
Feels something like summertime
Just like summertime
(Sum-sum-summertime)
But it feels alright

Credit: Photo by Matthew Fox, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

In the spirit of the ancient alchemists who spent countless hours attempting to transmute cheap metals into gold, scientists from Germany’s HZDR research lab recently turned ordinary plastic into diamonds. For real.

In the experiment, researchers blasted a thin sheet of plastic — the kind used to make plastic bottles — with powerful lasers, briefly heating the material to 6,000 degrees Celsius. The extreme heat, pressure and resulting shock wave compressed the plastic into tiny "nanodiamonds."

For a brief moment in the lab, scientists simulated the conditions in the interior of icy giant planets, such as Neptune and Uranus, where temperatures reach several thousand degrees Celsius and the pressure is millions of times greater than in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Ice giants not only contain carbon and hydrogen but also vast amounts of oxygen. When searching for suitable film material, the researchers hit on an everyday substance: PET, the resin out of which ordinary plastic bottles are made.

“The effect of the oxygen was to accelerate the splitting of the carbon and hydrogen and thus encourage the formation of nanodiamonds,” said Dominik Kraus, an author of the study, which was published in the journal Science Advances. “It meant the carbon atoms could combine more easily and form diamonds.”

The results of the experiment support the assumption that it literally rains diamonds inside the ice giants. The researchers noted that the findings are probably not just relevant to Uranus and Neptune, but to innumerable other planets in our galaxy, as well. While such ice giants used to be thought of as rarities, it now seems clear that they are probably the most common form of planet outside the solar system, they wrote.

The laser experiment also points to new methods for creating tiny diamonds to be used for industrial abrasives and polishing agents, quantum sensors and other applications.

“So far, diamonds of this kind have mainly been produced by detonating explosives,” Kraus explained. “With the help of laser flashes, they could be manufactured much more cleanly in the future.”

The team conducted its experiments at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California, the location of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), a powerful, accelerator-based X-ray laser.

Credit: Image courtesy of HZDR / Blaurock.

Golden treasure unearthed during the kitchen renovation of an 18th-century townhouse is likely to yield a $290,000 payday for a UK couple in Ellerby, a village in North Yorkshire, about 50 miles north of Manchester.

After ripping up the kitchen floor boards and breaking through a concrete slab, the couple encountered what they thought were old electrical connections. What they actually pulled out of the ground was an earthenware vessel about the size of a soda can filled to the brim with 264 gold coins. The container had rested undisturbed for nearly 300 years.

The well worn coins were dated from 1610 to 1727 and covered the reigns of James I through that of King George I. The gold coins carried face values between £50 and £100, but when they hit the auction block at Spink and Son in London on October 7 they will likely sell for more than a quarter million dollars.

"It is a wonderful and truly unexpected discovery from so unassuming a find location," auctioneer Gregory Edmund said in the press release sent to CNN. "This find of over 260 coins is also one of the largest on archaeological record from Britain, and certainly for the 18th century period."

Spink and Son's research revealed that the "Ellerby Area Hoard," was likely accumulated by Joseph and Sarah Fernley-Maisters, who were married in 1694 and occupied the house until their deaths in 1725 and 1745, respectively. The couple was part of an influential family that traded in iron ore, timber and coal. Several family members served in the Parliament in the early 1700s.

Edmund added that the strategy of hiding gold under their kitchen floor likely reflected the couple's distrust of the newly formed Bank of England (1694) and the newfangled paper "banknote."

The auction house explained that the Fernley-Maisters family line dwindled soon after Sarah died at the age of 80, which is presumably why the coins were never retrieved.

According to artnet.com, the most unusual coins in the "Ellerby Area Hoard" include a 1720 George I guinea that reflects an embarrassing minting error. The coin has two "tails" sides. Another oddity is a 1675 Charles II guinea which misspells the King's Latin name as “CRAOLVS” instead of “CAROLVS.”

Credits: Photos courtesy of Spink and Son, London.