After living in their 18th-century United Kingdom townhouse for ten years, an anonymous couple decided it was time to make a few upgrades. During the renovations, however, they unearthed the surprise of a lifetime: more than 260 rare gold coins dating back hundreds of years, reports CNN’s Sana Noor Haq.

And while it’s unclear how much the couple spent on their home improvement project, the coins may just help offset some of the costs. They’re expected to fetch upwards of £250,000 ($288,000) at auction next month, per an emailed statement from the auction house Spink & Son.

The couple found the coins in July 2019 while renovating their home in Ellerby, a village in North Yorkshire in the northeastern part of England. As they worked to replace the home’s kitchen floor, the couple encountered what they initially thought was an electrical cable buried beneath the concrete.

But when they investigated the obstruction, they realized they’d hit upon a small stoneware cup brimming with gold coins. The cup, buried six to eight inches below ground, was about the same size as a soda can, per Spink & Son.

“The remarkable trove is unlike any find in British archaeology or like any coin auction in living memory,” says Gregory Edmund, a numismatist with Spink & Son, in an emailed statement.

Though the discovery is rare, the money pieces themselves would’ve been used as ordinary, everyday coins during their day.

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