Piano gold hoard is 'life-changing' sovereign stockpile

[Neil]

A hoard of gold discovered hidden inside an old piano has been revealed to be a collection of sovereign coins.

The discovery was made in Shropshire before Christmas when its new owners had it retuned and repaired.

An inquest in Shrewsbury heard the collection consists of an undisclosed number of coins dating from 1847 to 1915.

Experts believe the coins may have been "deliberately hidden" and could yield a "life changing" sum of money.
 
The history and whereabouts of the piano between 1906-1983 is unknown

Shrewsbury Coroner's Court heard senior coroner John Ellery recount how the piano, made by Broadwood & Sons of London, was initially sold to Messrs Beavan and Mothersole of Saffron Walden, Essex, in 1906.

But its ownership from then until 1983 - when it was purchased by a family in the area who later moved to Shropshire - is unknown.

The coroner is now seeking information about its whereabouts between 1906 and 1983.

Mr Ellery deferred the conclusion of the inquest to allow for more time for anyone with information about the piano from the Essex area to come forward.

The hoard was initially reported to Peter Reavill, Finds Liaison Officer for the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme at Shropshire Museums.

While not declaring the true value of the coins, he said it has "the potential of yielding a life changing sum of money."

"It's not the sort of money you would tuck away and forget," he said. "It is lifetime of savings and its beyond most people," Mr Reavill added.

The objects will qualify as treasure and be the property of the Crown if the coroner finds they have been hidden with the intent of future recovery.

However, if the original owner or their heirs can establish their title to the find, the Crown's claim will be void.

The inquest will resume and conclude on 20 April.

[probono]

I think this is quite an interesting find - of course I checked my piano, but nothing apart from cat hair and lego sadly.

From a rough guess - looks like around 100 sovereigns - so around £25k in scrap - almost enough to buy a nice new piano (but not a Steinway).

I wonder if the coins were stashed in WW1 - given the last coins of 1915 - I know that with the introduction of regular paper money the government ordered that gold was to be handed in for the war effort - my great grandfather apparently had 400 sovereigns stashed under his bed and handed them in for paper money - was it hidden so the government didn't get their hands on it?

It's possible that this happened - and perhaps the man of the house was sent to war and never came back.

It will be interesting to see if the story does every get discovered.

[Dryland]

LOST ----- £100 reward offered....... For return of my Beloved piano

[dingdong]

Iv..Or red ey..Claimed it !!!!!🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹....😁