Back in 1983, Graham and Meg Hemmings, now 72 and 65, purchased a used piano so their four children could learn how to play. The Hemmings enjoyed the piano 32 years. Finally, in 2016, they donated it to Bishop's Castle Community College in Shropshire, England. This year the instrument was routinely checked by piano tuner Martin Backhouse, 61, who discovered small cloth sacks beneath the keyboard. He thought the sacks contained moth balls, but then discovered they held 913 gold sovereigns valued at $641,000, give or take.
Experts believe the coins may have been stashed in the piano during the Great Depression. Under the Treasure Act of 1996, only the finder of a treasure and the existing owner are entitled to the proceeds. Mr. Backhouse now plans to retire early, and the other half of the funds will go to the college. "I don't regret not finding the coins," Mr. Hemmings said. "We're to celebrate that its doing to be used for a good cause." How very British!
Mirror.co.uk
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