The anonymous couple from Milford on Sea unearthed the 70 gold and silver coins on 6 April 2020, during the first national lockdown. Initially dismissing them as “strange circular discs”, their teenage son later washed the clay-caked items to reveal their historic nature.

The collection predominantly dates from the 1530s, during the reign of King Henry VIII, with some coins bearing the initials of his wives Catherine of Aragon and Jane Seymour. The oldest coins in the hoard date back to the 1420s.

Auctioneer David Guest noted that the original owner must have been exceptionally wealthy, as the hoard’s 16th-century value of around £26 was equivalent to the price of a rural house at the time, BBC reports.

Following their discovery, the coins were examined by the British Museum and valued by the Treasure Valuation Committee. They were returned to the finders in 2023 after no museum was able to acquire them.

Mr Guest, who described the couple as having “hit the jackpot”, predicts the coins will significantly exceed their estimate due to their “fantastic condition”. The historic find will be sold at auction in Zurich, Switzerland, on 5 November.