The houses that our elderly relatives live in are full of secrets. Shortly after my great-aunt passed away, my family discovered treasures in her attic that dated all the way back to the nineteenth century, and some of them were worth a lot of money! Being a sentimental bunch, there were a few things we couldn't bring ourselves to sell.
I kept her charm bracelet from the '50s for luck, and it's never failed me! But one man, who went by the alias of Evilenglish on Reddit, found the greatest (and luckiest) treasure imaginable in his grandparents' house...
Cleaning out houses after losing our elderly relatives is something that many people have to do. Some years after his grandparents passed away, Evilenglish had to clean out their farmhouse in Tennessee. He had no idea then that he was going to make a life-changing discovery under their worn and tattered carpet...
It Had Been Empty For Years
We all know how easily dust gathers in corners that we don't visit often. Evilenglish's grandparents' farmhouse hadn't been lived in since 1997, so you can only imagine how dusty it was...
Evilenglish was planning on selling the property, but before he could even think about putting it up for sale. He had a huge clean-up task on his hands. No one wants to live in a dusty, dirty house!
Treasure Island
My grandpa was a sailor so the idea of finding treasure has appealed to me since I was a kid. He even got chased by pirates! Evilenglish also had a childhood affinity with treasure thanks to his grandparents...
Amazingly, Evilenglish's grandparents read Treasure Island to him in the house. Little did he know that he was going to find real-life treasure in the very place where he'd first heard Stevenson's classic tale!
The Closet
If you heard a burglar - or worse - in your house at night, where's the first place you'd think of hiding? The closet, of course! And it was in a closet that Evilenglish first noticed something interesting...
Just like my great-aunt's attic, Evilenglish probably wondered what was in his grandparents' closet. At first, it looked like there was nothing interesting, but then he noticed a carpet on the floor instead of floorboards... Was there something underneath it? Carpets aren't what you'd expect to find in a farmhouse's closet!
The Carpet
In preparation for selling his grandparents' house, Evilenglish knew that he had to pull up the tattered carpet. There was no way anyone would want something that old (and probably smelly) in their closet!
When he went into the closet to remove the carpet, Evilenglish had no idea that he was about to find something very mysterious underneath it. The greatest treasure, after all, is usually buried in some way...
The Concrete Safe
As you can tell from this picture, this is when things really started to get interesting for the Reddit user...
A giant concrete safe was underneath the carpet! What on Earth could be inside it? That's not something you'd find in your average closet. What could merit concrete to protect it?! Something interesting that's for sure!
Evilenglish's Grandparents
Evilenglish's mind must have been racing. He knew that his grandparents were very interesting people...
Evilenglish's grandfather had a passion for athlete arms, so there could be something dangerous hidden in the closet, but his grandmother was a keen collector of artifacts, so there might also be something valuable inside! But how was he going to get into the safe? That lock looked like it hadn't been opened in decades...
The Locksmith
It was a job for a professional, but as Evilenglish found the safe on a Sunday, there were no locksmiths available...
Undeterred, he tried again on Monday and got a locksmith. "He said about 30 mins into this that if he had known what he was getting into," Evilenglish revealed, "he would have referred the job to someone else."
It Was Almost Ready
After hiring a locksmith, all Evilenglish could do was wait. The locksmith himself must have been curious!
The safe's opening was starting to look more and more like a lock that Evilenglish could open. But he was certainly going to have trouble getting whatever was inside out thanks to all that concrete.
It Just Needed Opening
The safe's opening was no longer reminiscent of a lock, it was a proper one. It just needed to be opened now...
I wonder if the locksmith stuck around to see what was inside. Evilenglish put the correct code into the lock and all he could do was hope that the locksmith had worked his magic and that it opened...
What Could Be Inside?
It did! He must have been so excited and nervous to find out what his grandparents had hidden in the safe...
What if the safe was empty? Looking at the picture, it's pretty dark in there. And we all know how disappointed Brock Lovett was when he didn't find the Heart Of The Ocean in the safe he pulled up from the ocean in Titanic...
What Is THAT?!
It was jam-packed with what looked like books, or boxes. What would you think if you saw this inside a safe?!
Well, at least it wasn't arms his grandfather had tried to hide. I doubt they could fit inside boxes this small. So maybe it was artifacts that had belonged to Evilenglish's grandmother. It could literally be anything!
It Didn't Look Like Much
It doesn't look like much, but this is what Evilenglish's grandparents had protected with concrete...
Looking at this picture, it's hard to believe that this was actually an amazing discovery. It doesn't look like much here, just a few worn books, some coins, and a few miscellaneous boxes. Evilenglish must have been disappointed!
The First Valuable
This was the cover of one of the books Evilenglish found. It was the first thing with something interesting inside...
As you can tell from the cover of the book, it was wet. Soaking wet. He knew that there had been a flood in Evilenglish's grandparents' house some years ago. Thankfully, its contents weren't completely damaged...
Rare Coins
Evilenglish must have been devastated when he saw the wet dollar bills, but all wasn't lost...
Whilst the bills were ruined, the book was full of rare coins which were well-preserved. His grandparents seemed to have made the right decision by covering their safe in concrete. Something was saved!
There Was More
We know that there were some bills in beside the first lot of coins, but there were even more of them in the safe too!
Evilenglish said that they were "soaking wet" but he hoped that he could be able to get them "separated and dried out!" If only his grandparents' farmhouse hadn't flooded all those years ago...
A Lot More
Just look at all that money! There had to be at least a few hundred dollars worth of coins there...
I take that back, looking more closely at this picture, it's clear that Evilenglish was looking at a find worth thousands of dollars. Those don't look like ordinary coins. They look rare and rare coins are worth a lot more!
Reddit Helps Evilenglish
The Internet is wonderful because it connects people. When Evilenglish posted his find on Reddit, this happened...
Evilenglish was informed that soiled bills would be replaced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in some instances. All he had to do was take a trip there to be sure the money would be replaced!
The Silver Bars
Do you know what these silver objects are?! Maybe you can guess from the pictures on them...
These are very rare silver bars which are inscribed with the dates that Connecticut and two other states (which aren't legible in these photographs) were founded. These would certainly fetch a high price - they were true pieces of history.
Perfectly Preserved
Not only were the items that Evilenglish found plentiful, they were also in remarkably good condition.
Take this huge coin for an example. It's been perfectly preserved in a protective case, and even though it's whithered over the years, the coin itself looks as good as new.
The Box
There was a box within the safe, but because it was so old and rusty, it was anyone's guess what would be inside it...
What do you think this is? Personally, my money's on a toolbox. It looks exactly like the one my grandpa had kicking around his yard.
The Jewelry
Now, this is something I can relate to. Remember what I wrote about the piece of treasure I kept from my great-aunt's house? It's a common find, but it looks like a very valuable one too!
Wow! Now that's what I call a fancy watch. Evilenglish also found a lot of jewelry in a box too. His grandparents must have put all of their valuables in the safe. He was so lucky to find them before he sold the house!
What It Was Worth
So, if you're anything like me, you've probably been trying to tally up roughly what the find was worth. The amount is bigger than you'll probably guess. Evilenglish's life had changed forever!
Whilst the exact figure is unknown, it's safe to say that it was tens of thousands of dollars. "Just so you know anything from 1964 or older is 90% silver worth about 20 times face value of the coin," he revealed on Reddit.
The Coffee Table
After his amazing find, Evilenglish naturally made sure that he checked every nook and cranny in the house. He didn't want to accidentally miss more treasure. But surely his grandparent's didn't have anymore...
Inside an unsuspecting coffee table, a second safe was found! Evilenglish probably couldn't believe his luck! And to think that his grandparents hadn't told anyone about the treasures in their house...
The Second Safe
Evilenglish had some incredible grandparents who'd chosen to save the right things at just the right time...
It'll come as no surprise that there were guns in the second safe. Whilst they weren't anything special, there were also Barr notes in this safe too.
The Barr Notes
Just like the coins found in the first safe, these too are incredibly rare - so rare in fact that we've not got a picture of them to hand.
Why? Well, it's because Joseph Barr was the use Secretary of State for less than a month between 1968 and 1968 so hardly any notes were produced, let alone remain, with him on them. Evilenglish had hit the jackpot!
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