Life-Changing
Something that everyone dreams of is getting valuable, life-changing heirlooms from their family. In real life, many self proclaimed "treasure hunters" have been searching for the motherlode.
But there was one grandson who didn't have to look very far to find immensely valuable items. The man lives in Tenessee and stumbled on his grandparents' horde under the carpet of their old farmhouse.
Hidden
A lot of people, thankfully, grow up with many family members close by. Grandparents normally have great stories to tell their grandkids -- whether the children saw them on a weekend, a holiday, or even lived with them. In many cases though, the grandparents pass away during the children's lives and take their secrets with them.
Some kids are clever and figure out the secrets that the grandparents left behind. This can happen only years late, like with the man from Tenessee when he found his grandparents' horde.
Long Forgotten
The man from Tenessee's username on Reddit is Evilenglish and this is the only name we know him by. He found the treasure years after the farmhouse was left empty. His grandparents had to move out due to their degrading health. In 1997, they moved to a place closer to health workers who could support them.
The farm was in Tenessee, around a remote region where there was nothing around. The grandfather passed away not too long after moving out and the grandmother couldn't bear to go live in the farmhouse by herself. The farmhouse started to become just memory.
Inheritance
In 2009, Evilenglish's father passed away. This meant that the only link to the farmhouse was him now. He was shocked that his inheritance included the old farmhouse.
He left it for a long time, not really wanting to go back. But eventually, he decided to give the place a visit and start packing up his grandparents' things.
Ambition
He drove all the way out to the old farmhouse and decided that he would declutter it and restore it to its original glory. Afterward, he would put it up for sale.
This was an ambitious undertaking, it would take a lot of time but he had to do it, but he couldn't afford the old house. He felt mixed emotions wash over him as he got out of his car and looked at the old farmhouse. Then he realized what kind of state the house was actually in.
A Lot Of Work
The wood of the house was starting to rot and there were webs everywhere. The house didn't even look structurally sound. Evilenglish started to work on the house. After a few days worth of work, he had done a lot, but there was still much to do.
One day, while working on the house, he remembered something about his grandparents that put the house in a new light. As he looked at the peeling wallpaper and rotting ceiling beams he felt a strange emotion.
Remembering
As he looked through his grandparents' possessions he started to remember fond moments from his childhood. With each item he sorted, he remembered more. There were many memories in this house -- his grandparents loved to collect things.
He found a dusty copy of Treasure Island and suddenly could remember his grandmother reading it to him as a child. He remembered wanting to discover treasure after his grandmother read that story to him. Maybe there was treasure here somewhere?
Secret Heirlooms
His grandfather was always fond of telling him amazing stories and as a child, he generally believed every word. As an adult, he didn't really think they could hold any truth. Of all his stories, his grandfather's favorite was talking about back when he was a sailor. These stories always had pirates.
His grandfather also wanted to discover treasure like him. As he kept sorting through the house, he felt that maybe his grandfather's stories had more weight than he gave them credit for.
Inside The Closet
Staring at the closet at the bottom of the stairwell, he felt like there was something in there that was important. As he slowly moved items out of the way inside the closet, there was an old carpet there.
The carpet itself was in a bad state, once he took it out he noticed something in its place -- a circular notch on the floor.
The Strangest Find
He became very curious about what lay under the carpet. There was a handle on the item on the floor. It seemed like a giant plug for the floor, but why? He could no longer wait and pulled hard on the plug to reveal something that was hidden for a long time.
It was, in fact, a safe! Unfortunately, the safe was sealed shut. As he kept trying to get it open for days on end, he finally conceded and asked for help from Tim, the locksmith.
The Grand Reveal
Tim worked for hours until he finally got the lock off. At last, it was time to see what lay in the safe. What could be so important that it needed to be protected and hidden from everyone? Evilenglish wasn’t going to wait to find out.
He pulled open the safe to reveal a pile of bricks all surrounded by water. Was this it? Evilenglish suddenly remembered a pipe had burst in the house many years before and flooded a lot of the ground floor. It must have leaked into the ground floor.
Collecting Like Mad
Evilenglish knew his grandparents had always collected various items over the years. His grandfather had always had an interest in pistols and had spent years showing evilenglish his collection. Plus, he had a significant love of sport which was proven with his vast collection of sports memorabilia.
On the other hand, evilenglish’s grandmother was a keen coin collector who had amassed an enormous stash over the years. Evilenglish had spent many years searching for them all around the house.
Digging For Answers
This couldn’t be all that lay in the safe. Evilenglish began to pull out the bricks to reveal an entire time capsule. It looked as though it was something straight out of the 1930s as one of the first things evilenglish found was a coin book from 1937.
Sadly, the outside was incredibly damaged, but thankfully the layers had protected the coins inside from the water. In fact, they were almost in pristine condition. It was as if they had just been placed in there.
More Confusing Finds
Evilenglish continued to dig deeper and deeper, but all he could find to start with was a collection of coin books. No one could believe how many had been hiding under the floor all this time. It seemed his grandmother had done more collecting than anyone ever imagined.
The books weren’t all that was in the safe. No, evilenglish soon discovered a variety of coins that had been dumped into the safe along with a collection of water-damaged dollar bills. It kept getting stranger.
A High Price Tag
Although many of the coins were standard issue versions, many pieces in the collection were rare coins. It turned out that even the standard finds could still have a high collector’s value if evilenglish decided to sell them.
In fact, they were now worth much more than just their face value even after being submerged in the water for so many years. It looked as though evilenglish had stumbled upon a gold mine, but could he really sell these items after his grandparents spent all those years collecting?
Another Addition To The List
Evilenglish soon discovered there were more than just silver coins in the safe. It turned out his grandfather had also done some collecting of his own – there were a number of pure silver bars.
To top it off, the silver looked pristine. Evilenglish knew they could be worth a small fortune, especially as they had been protected in their boxes. Many of the bars had even been engraved with markings that showcased their true history. Evilenglish was holding onto a piece of the past.
A Wrench In The Works
As evilenglish continue to enjoy all the finds in the safe, he suddenly found something pretty confusing. There was an old box, but it has completely rusted over. Although evilenglish figured it must be an old toolbox, he wondered what it was doing down here with the other collections.
It looked entirely out of place. Perhaps there were some valuable tools his grandparents wanted to protect? Whatever was inside, it must be completely ruined by now judging by the outside.
Revealing The Secret
Evilenglish soon managed to pry open the box and find the answers to his questions. It wasn’t filled with tools at all, but instead held a ton of jewelry and pocket watches. Although some of the contents had been affected by the water, most of the pieces were still in good working order.
Evilenglish knew his grandparents must have spent many years collecting everything to fill their secret safe. He just wondered why they had never spoken of their hidden treasures.
Turning To The Internet
The family soon all joined in to haul out piece after piece. It wasn’t long before they were left with the bottom of the safe which looked as though it was lined with a ton of loose coins. These must have been the standard ones not worthy of being in a case.
Evilenglish was amazed by the finds but had no idea where to start. It was time to turn to social media once more. It had been there to document the journey, and now it was time to ask for their help.
Offering Up Advice
Evilenglish uploaded his finds and asked if the people of the internet would be able to help in any way. Many other users came forward to offer their opinions on the water damage. Some even offered up ways evilenglish might be able to save many of the pieces and restore them to their former glory.
Others had bad news. Some social media users admitted that some of the items might be so severely damaged they would no longer be worth anything to anyone.
Preserving The Memories
Evilenglish knew they he wanted to keep some of the coins. After all, his grandmother loved looking through her coin collection, and the pair had spent hours searching for new additions and checking over the finds when evilenglish was a youngster.
They were the perfect way to remember his late grandmother. However, evilenglish needed a way to preserve the coins and get them back to their former glory. It was the least evilenglish could do for his grandmother.
Spit And Polish
Many people were quick to offer help and advice to evilenglish on how to get the coins back to looking their best. All he needed to do was clean them off, and they would soon be back up to their top value once more. However, evilenglish still had no idea if he was going to sell any of the collection.
Little did any of the family know they had been standing over such an extensive collection hidden underneath this house the entire time.
Yet Another Mystery
Evilenglish continued to clear through the rest of the house. After all, the family still needed to get it ready for the real estate agent. He was soon joined by his brother when the pair made another discovery.
Evilenglish had believed the secret safe was the only mystery they would find in the home. Little did they know there was another safe hiding in plain sight. It turned out their grandfather had a safe installed in the coffee table. It was time to break it open.
Extreme Find
The safe was filled with their grandfather’s pistol collection and even more money. Only this time they weren’t just any dollar bills, but were, in fact, Barr notes. These special notes were extremely rare as Joseph W. Barr was once the Secretary of State.
However, he was only in the position for 29 days. It turned out evilenglish’s grandfather had been able to get hold of the notes and keep them safe. Now, they were holding some of the rarest currency in the nation.
Learning Their Value
People all over social media continued to comment on evilenglish’s photos as they gave their opinion on the items’ worth. It turned out that some of them were worth thousands of dollars while others only had a sentimental value that meant nothing to anyone outside of the family.
Now, evilenglish just needed to decide if he wanted to sell the finds or keep hold of it all. He had plenty of offers and knew it would be easy to find new owners for many of the pieces.
Sadness Turned Into An Adventure
Evilenglish never knew how clearing out his grandparents’ house could soon turn into one of the biggest adventures of his life. He had finally achieved his dreams of finding his own Treasure Island after all these years, and in the house he had imagined the whole tale in the first place.
It was almost too good to be true. Now, the family could enjoy looking back at the entire collections that had made their late family memories so happy for so many years.
Something To Remember Them By
It’s hard to imagine how evilenglish, and then later his brother, must have felt when they found their grandmother’s collection, and then their grandfather’s collection on top of that. When we lose people who were close to us, physical objects are some of the things that help us remember them in that initial period when the grief is still being processed.
Holding on to something tangible, then, is a way of feeling close to that person. In that sense, the two safes really were treasures – but not in the financial sense.
A Real Dilemma
Sentimental value aside, it was clear evilenglish had items with serious worth on his hands. Collectors go wild in bidding for a piece they simply have to have, and a big windfall might be in the family’s future – if they decided to sell.
This was a serious dilemma. On the one hand, there was big money to be made. On the other, these heirlooms belonged to his beloved grandparents, and were collections they’d dedicated time and passion to. Would they have liked for them to be sold off like that?
Letting Go Of The Past, Looking To The Future
While we certainly have never met evilenglish’s grandparents, we might be able to suss out what they’d be thinking in such a situation. Grandparents want nothing more than for their family to be happy and secure, both financially and otherwise, and often do everything they can to make sure that happens while they’re still alive.
When they pass, it’s unlikely for these sentiments to change. If they could know evilenglish or a member of his family could somehow improve their lives, they would probably condone selling off their prized collections.