What If's
Finally, the locksmith arrives. As he gets to work at the mysterious safe his grandparents secretly left behind, English wonders why they never mentioned anything about it to him.
What if they wanted this to stay hidden? With a falling stomach, he thinks through different scenarios. The locksmith pulls it open.
A Tight Bond
He couldn’t delay it any further. Tennessee man and Reddit user, “Evil English”, decided to finally clean up the old farmhouse he inherited from his beloved grandparents, who sadly passed away a few years ago.
English's grandparents were very dear to his heart, so the decision to clean up the house and sell it wasn’t made lightly. Yet, here he was.
The Farmhouse
Although inheriting the house was a kind gesture by his grandparents, it was also a gesture that meant he had a lot of work to do.
The old farmhouse wasn’t in the best shape. It needed many repairs, both internally and externally. It had damp walls and floorboards, as well as broken windows and outdated electrical and water supplies. But that’s not all it had.
A Foul Smell
If he wanted to sell this house for a decent price, he needed to identify areas of the house that needed work. English found himself entering every nook and cranny of the wooden house.
As he searches the house, he opens a door that leads to a small closet space. A foul smell fills the room and he imagines the worst.
Finding The Problem
He thinks it’s coming from between the walls. There’s nothing left to do but get to work. Using a hammer, English breaks through the outside wall of the room first.
When he makes a whole large enough, he shoves his arm in. He doesn’t have enough time to be squeamish. He wants this fixed as soon as possible. He searches with his hand.
The Final Search
He finds nothing but can see a vast open space. Large enough for anything to be hiding inside. So he decides to break down the wall and climb in.
With the foul smell still lingering, he covers his nose. English is now utterly dreading what might be waiting for him. He’s never done this type of work before and has no idea what he’s about to find.
Bingo!
Perplexed, English finds nothing. He goes back into the foul-smelling closet and suddenly it hits him. He knows what it is.
It’s the carpet. On closer inspection, he realizes that the carpet must be decades old and still water from years of water damage. Relieved to have found the problem, he rolls up his sleeve. But perhaps not far enough.
A Mystery Hidding
After an initial struggle, he pries the carpet off. To his surprise, he sees something strange. A circular piece of metal, sticking out of a concrete slab, in the middle of a wooden floor.
His stomach drops. Having been surrounded by the foul smell for so long, he wonders if whatever is behind this was the cause of the foul smell all this time. Reluctantly, he looks closer.
A Secret Safe
He wonders if it’s some kind of old sewage tank, or odd water container system. But as he looks closer, he realizes that it's much more than that.
It looks like some sort of strange safe. Feeling confused as to what he’s just uncovered, he calls his parents to ask them if they know anything about it. They admit they did but never knew what was inside.
A Call For Help
They try their best guesses as to what the combination number may be but attempt in vain. English then tries to open the safe by himself but can’t.
With no other option, he calls a locksmith for help. The locksmith arrives and tries his hand at opening this mysterious safe his grandparents secretly left behind.
An Anxious Wait
As the locksmith works, English is getting more and more anxious about what’s inside. Why didn’t they ever mention this? Did they put it here for whatever it is to remain hidden?
Did they remember the safe was still here when they gave him the house? As English thinks through different scenarios, the locksmith pulls it open.
Family Heirloom
A pile of bricks and lots of dirty water? That can’t be right. English reaches in his hand and begins retrieving the bricks. And then he finds the beginnings of his family's hidden treasure.
One of them, a 1937 coin book. The outside is severely water-damaged but the money inside is in excellent condition. Encouraged, he keeps searching.
Damaged And Rare Finds
He found more than a dozen coin books and what was left of some soaked dollar bills as unfortunately, they were destroyed by the water.
After retrieving a lot more coins, both rare and beautiful, as well as some vintage pistols and wristwatches, English thought he had reached the end of his discovery. Then he pulls out this.
A Treasure The Keeps On Giving!
It’s an old rusted tool box. English thought he’d find some old rusted tools inside but fell back in awe as he opened it.
The deceiving box housed piles of jewelry and bars of pure silver. English thought back to his grandparents, imagining them as they boxed all of these treasures up and stored them in this secret safe. He wondered what else he didn’t know about them.
One Lucky Guy!
English posted about his amazing discovery openly on Reddit, asking his community how much they think these coins would be worth.
One avid coin collector estimated that his find is worth thousands as coins found in a safe have a much higher value than face value. It’s not hard to believe that English walked away from this find, feeling like that guy.