One day, while strolling through her garden, Kate, along with her mother, made the most astonishingly life-changing discovery. She unearthed a rare silver coin from the soil in her backyard. "Wow, this must be from millions of years ago, I'll keep it as a souvenir for when Kate grows up," thought her mom!
All was forgotten about the coin until several years ago when Kate came across it in a memory box. Soon enough, everything came back - the walk through the backyard and the rare discovery. So, the next day, quite excited, Kate went to a local museum to learn more about it. Little did she know that the same coin would land her in prison.
Gardening
9-year-old Kate Harding lived in Britain with her mother. They owned a small house which had a very beautiful garden. It was the most beautiful part of the house, probably.
Kate and her mother used to spend mornings in their garden plucking out weeds. But instead of helping her mother, little Kate was more into playing with the soil when on one fine morning, she scooped out a phenomenal shining object.
Treasure Hunt
Kate quickly slipped the shining object in her pocket trying to hide it from her mother. She had no idea about what the object was but it was no less than a prize to her. Kate rushed to her bathroom to clean the dirty metal and identified it to be an ancient silver coin.
The coin was distorted as it had been buried in the soil for years but it meant no less than a treasure to Kate. She hid that coin in her dresser without having the slightest idea of what power it held.
Rediscovery
Years passed when the coin stayed buried in Kate’s dresser when one day it decided to show up again. Kate was then preparing to move to college.
That’s when her hand touched her childhood treasure. All the memories about that day came rushing back. Along with the nostalgia, also came an unfortunate incident in her life.
Unfortunate Event
A few months after moving to college, a very disturbing news came knocking her door. Her mother had passed away. The coin brought in a flood of emotions as she recalled the day when the coin was found while gardening with her mother.
She considered that coin to be a final memento of their beautiful relationship and decided to never to part from it. But Kate had no idea what the mysterious coin was going to bring now.
Uncovering Secrets
As a kid, Kate had no idea what value the coin held, it only meant a shiny trinket to her. But now as an adult, she was curious to know its worth and secrets. A lot of questions ran through her mind.
Without wasting a moment, she went to a local museum and gave them all the details about her uncovering. The experts studied the coin and later approached Kate with some surprising facts.
National Treasure
What she had unearthed as a child was not in fact a coin! “What is it then?” she exclaimed. “It is an extremely valuable novelty,” said one of the experts.
“The coin you unearthed as a child actually belongs to the United Kingdom and only four such pieces exist.” Kate was left surprised as she realised that her discovery was in fact a national treasure! But the treasure brought along it’s bad fate.
The Piedfort
The experts also revealed that the piece looking like a coin was actually called a “piedfort” - something a lot thicker and weightier than a normal coin. x
But a layman’s eyes would easily mistake it for an ancient coin. Kate was excited to know more about this rare coin. But her excitement was soon going to fade away.
Motherly Memento
This 700 years old piedfort was actually created to honor the 1322 ascension by Charles IV to the French Throne. It was England’s most valued relic with an estimated value of about $3000! Now, Kate was convinced that a highly expensive historical item was under her possession.
But money isn’t the reason she was holding onto it. The piedfort held an emotional value to her as it was a motherly memento. But soon enough, Kate’s hopes of preserving it came crashing down.
Taking Ownership
This news soon reached the ears of police and they came rushing to Kate to take her prized possession away. It was considered to be the property of the Royal Family. Kate reached out to a museum named Ludlow for help but instead of helping her securing her treasure, they insisted on her to pass it to its rightful owners - the government.
Now it was a matter of legal interest. She started receiving numerous letters and phone calls from the authorities asking her to return the piedfort to the museum but she ignored them all, until one-day police officers showed up at her door.
Breaking The Law
The police soon handed her the court summons. Kate had never imagined that the country had laws to acquire such treasures from finders like her. She was charged with breaking the Treasure Act of 1996.
Kate had never imagined that her innocent childhood discovery would lead her to be treated like a criminal. This left her devastated.
Lawyer To Rescue
Soon enough, the police started swarming her house and putting handcuffs around her. Kate now knew she could end up behind bars for months! That’s when lawyer Brenden Reedy came to her rescue.
Brenden was a very experienced and an expert lawyer. He assured Kate to end this nightmare soon but never thought this couldn’t be true.
Case Of Emotions
The court pushed harder on Kate to return the piedfort but the harder they tried, the stronger her will got to keep it. If it were a case of greed for money, she would have returned it long back, but it was a case of emotional attachment.
The piedfort was as close to her heart as her mother and knew that the authorities weren’t going to give up searching for it. That’s when a brilliant idea struck her.
Missing Treasure
It became a lengthy case and Kate was tired of being prosecuted. This was the moment she was committed to clear all the accusations on her name by taking certain harsh measures.
Kate came up with an idea and somehow convinced the authorities that the valuable piedfort has gone missing. In no time, the case of missing piedfort with Kate’s story became a news of everybody’s interest.
Public Support
Surprisingly, the public stood in Kate’s favor. They said it is very insensitive of the authorities to try and grab someone’s personal belongings. And it is even more shameful to put someone behind bars for such a harmless act.
They also said that the law should listen to the founder of the item rather than supporting the ones who want to snatch it. People agreed Kate was persecuted. That’s when someone stepped in to Kate’s rescue.
Failed Prosecution
A perceptive Coventry resident - Alan questioned saying “The piedfort was discovered before the Treasure’s Act 1996 was established.
Therefore, if Kate found it before 1996, will the power of the Act be still relevant?” The prosecution failed to justify themselves on this matter but the museum authorities weren’t going to leave this easily.
Unconvinced Authorities
Alan also mentioned that this case led Kate to spoil her clean record. He was convinced that she deserved to present her appeal to a reputable judge.
The battle over a little piedfort continued for some time. Kate had already announced that the piedfort was missing but this wasn’t convincing enough for the museum.
Case Closed
After this shocking announcement, the prosecution and the authorities tried hard to find the piedfort but it resulted in nothing. The museum staff was no longer authorized to search for the missing treasure as the case was closed.
They ceased their obsessive search. It had been a long battle, but it was now over. The thought of acquiring the piedfort eventually faded away.
Kate’s Determination
Kate could have easily made $3000 if she had given away the coin but her determination to not part away from her mother’s memento helped her win all the battles. The piedfort will now stay in her family for generations to come.
It will probably be the best-kept secret of the country. Maybe Kate’s children will understand the importance of this piedfort someday.
What Would You Do?
If a similar situation occurred in your life, how would you react? Only those can empathize with Kate who have faced a similar situation.
Sometimes it's difficult to part with some objects. Especially, when they are close to your heart. Don't you have something similar that you just can't say goodbye to?