Corona Daily 236: Fruits of Lockdown Gardening

In 1526, the English king Henry VIII and his chief advisor, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, reformed England’s coinage to regulate the kingdom’s economy. In that project, the Tudor king introduced gold crowns, with a difference. They bore the initials of the queen, Catherine of Aragon.

Seven years later, Henry VIII wished to divorce his wife. This desire changed the course of England’s history. Since pope Clement VII wouldn’t allow him to divorce, Henry VIII formed his own church: The Church of England. He became its supreme head. Many catholic convents and monasteries were dissolved. The king proceeded to marry Anne Boleyn, and the Royal Mint issued a new set of coins with the letter “A”.

Three years later, Henry VIII accused his wife of adultery, incest, witchcraft and conspiracy to kill him, and arranged her infamous beheading. Having gotten rid of her, he ordered the mint to produce “J” initialed gold coins, dedicated to his new wife, Jane Seymour. She died in a year’s time, in the process avoiding both a divorce and beheading.

Henry VIII married three more times, but the Mint was not able to keep pace. There is no record of this numismatic novelty for the last three marriages.

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During the April lockdown, with nothing better to do, a New Forest family in Hampshire, UK was weeding their flowerbed. All of a sudden, they discovered 63 gold coins and one silver coin from King Henry VIII’s reign. The treasure included coins with the initials of the king’s wives.  

The Museum experts have offered two possibilities. It could be a merchant’s hoard. This part of the world was wealthy. Wool trade was important. The New Forest is close to the coast, so someone involved in maritime trade could have hidden it.

The other possibility is the monasteries. When Henry VIII started dissolving or demolishing them, some monasteries and churches tried to hide their wealth in the hope of recovering it after several years. They didn’t, but some lockdown gardeners recovered the gold pot after almost five hundred years. The total value of the gold coins is more than 14,000 pounds in today’s money.

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Another gardener found a mystery hoard of 50 gold South African Krugerrands from the 1970s, worth about 75,000 pounds. This was discovered in a Milton Keynes garden. How the coins ended up there will be determined by the coroner.

The British museum has said more than 47,000 treasures were unearthed in pandemic times. They include a unique Roman furniture fitting with the well-preserved face of the god Oceanus and a medieval forgery of a bishop’s seal matrix. In Herefordshire, one resident dug out a snake-shaped belt hook from the post-medieval period. Another local found a late medieval ring on top of a molehill.

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England has a law about “Treasures”. If you find something in the garden, or anywhere else, that contains gold or silver, and is at least 300 years old, you must report it to the coroner of the district within 14 days. Not doing so can attract an unlimited fine or 3 months of prison. On the other hand, you may get a share of the reward, if you are the finder and had the permission to be on the land and acted in good faith. (Archeologists are not entitled to any reward, because it is their job).

England now wants to expand the definition of treasure to include other items. For the benefit of society, it is important the items land up in museums rather than private collections. In Scotland, you must hand over whatever you find, and the authorities decide whether it can be considered a treasure trove.

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Those who live in city apartments have little chance of digging in the lockdowns. I suggest they clean the house in the lockdown. It is surprising how many treasures one comes across during the cleaning.

Ravi