What Started Off As A Farmhouse Restoration Quickly Turned Into A Mega Treasure Hunt
Reddit user EvilEnglish was very close to his grandparents growing up. So, when they passed away, and he was asked to clean out their neglected Tennessee farmhouse, he accepted. He never expected to stumble upon a treasure hunt.
The grandson made a huge discovery in the most unlikely of places, underneath an old tattered carpet. The young man had no clue he was about to make the discovery of a lifetime. Keep reading to learn what he found.
The Farmhouse Was Neglected For Years
As homeowners know, it's easy for a residence to get dusty and appear neglected if the proper care isn't given. So, imagine a home built in 1997 that hasn't seen any TLC in many years. This is EvilEnglish's grandparents' abandoned farmhouse in Tennessee.
It had been a solid 20 years since anyone has been to the house, let alone touched it or made renovations. For the grandson, there was only one logical plan: to sell the place.
Easier Access To Medical Care Was Why They Left
It's sad because his grandparents wouldn't have left their farmhouse if his grandpa hadn't been diagnosed with lung cancer. To be closer to a medical center and their family, they decided to leave the farm in 1997.
After the grandfather passed away, EvilEnglish's grandma never returned to the beloved house they had shared for so many years. Eventually, she passed away, too. With no emotional connection to the house, the grandson kept putting off visiting the property, until now.
His Endgame Was To Sell The House
It was going to cost EvilEnglish too much money to maintain and keep the farmhouse. So, there were two options: demolish the home or sell it. He chose the latter. The only problem was that no one had set foot inside the farmhouse in 20 years!
It was dusty, falling apart, and had a serious case of cobwebs and mildew damage. EvilEnglish had some work to do. But he was up for the challenge and ready to get started!
Time To Get Down To Business
Deep down, EvilEnglish knew that there was no possible way he was going to be able to sell his grandparent's farmhouse in its current condition. With all of the neglect, it looked like the house was about to collapse! He was going to have to get down and dirty.
While rummaging through the house and trying to get rid of rubble, EvilEnglish's mind wandered. He remembered fond memories he'd had in this house. And one, in particular, stood out.
His Grandpa Was A Sailor And Loved Treasure
In the middle of cleaning, EvilEnglish began to reminisce about his late grandparents, especially his grandpa. Back in the day, he was a sailor and was even chased by pirates at one point in time! He and his wife used to love reading Treasure Island to EvilEnglish.
That book always made him associate treasure with the farmhouse. So, it makes sense that EvilEnglish began to believe his grandparents had stashed away some type of treasure in the house. He just had to find it.
Treasure Hunting Started In The Closet
With his mind made up, EvilEnglish began thinking about where his grandparents could have possibly hidden treasure in the decaying farmhouse. So, he started where any logical person would -- the closet!
Walking up to the hall closet, he wasn't expecting much. There was hardly anything in the house, aside from dust and cobwebs, after all. So, with his expectations kind of low, he opened the door. EvilEnglish didn't find anything but an old, smelly carpet. But then, everything changed.
The Carpet Was Covering Something
After seeing that the closet was empty besides the old mildew-ridden carpet, EvilEnglish couldn't help but feel mildly disappointed. Then again, he was in the old farmhouse for a reason. So he was going to have to take care of the carpet sooner or later.
He decided sooner was best, considering the smell. As he began to rip up the carpet, he noticed something hidden underneath. He scratched his head, having no clue what it could be. Then it hit him.
He Began To Remove The Carpet
After he realized there was something underneath the grimy carpet, he began to remove it. For EvilEnglish, what started as an average day (well as 'average' as restoring a neglected farmhouse can be), turned into a mystery.
As he suspected, as he peeled away the carpet, something began to take shape. What was it? Well, he wasn't going to stop there. EvilEnglish was now on a mission to remove the entire carpet and expose the secrets below.
The Object Underneath The Carpet Was A Safe
Once the entire carpet was removed, EvilEnglish stepped back and stared at the exposed object for a while. He couldn't make heads or tails of it; what could it possibly be? The ground around it was dug carefully, so the object slid into it seamlessly.
Then, a carpet was thrown over it so no one would find it. There was only one explanation; the object was some kind of safe. Unfortunately, it was covered in concrete. But, to EvilEnglish, that meant one thing: it was harboring something important!
He Wanted To Know What Was In The Safe
EvilEnglish had no idea what was inside the safe, but he was willing to bet it was something extraordinary. His grandparents had an affinity for old treasures, after all. While his grandpa liked to collect antique "arms," his grandmother loved old artifacts.
There could be some priceless gems hidden in the concrete safe! Now the question was, how was he going to open it? And what if he spent hours trying to open it and nothing was there?
Time To Call Mom
Not wanting to waste his time trying to crack open the concrete safe if there was nothing inside, EvilEnglish called his mom to see if she had any insight. She did! Apparently, the grandparents had a safe when they had all lived in Florida.
But that wasn't the only useful information his mother had to share. There was something else she knew, which could be the key to unlocking the mysteries of the safe. EvilEnglish was on pins and needles.
She Knew The Combination
After confirming that the slab of concrete was, in fact, a safe, EvilEnglish's mom dropped another round of knowledge. She knew the combination! She told her son that the combination was most likely her husband, his father's, birthday. And, if that didn't work, try his social security number.
EvilEnglish was thrilled. Not only did he have confirmation that the slab of concrete was a safe, but now he had the means to open it and see what was inside!
The Combinations Didn't Work
After spending some time putting in both combinations, EvilEnglish came to the conclusion that they weren't going to open the safe. He quickly realized that the lock was rusted together, or the two combinations his mom gave him were incorrect.
Either way, he was back to square one. Then, a light bulb went off in his head. If he was ever going to get this old safe open, he was going to have to call in professional reinforcements.
He Called A Locksmith
As EvilEnglish was unable to open the safe by himself, he decided it was time to call in a professional. And what better person to call than a locksmith? Unfortunately, he found the safe on a Sunday, so all of the locksmith shops were closed.
He was going to have to wait until Monday. At least he wasn't light on chores to do around the farmhouse. The only issue is that his mind kept wandering back to the safe.
The Locksmith Had A Hard Time
EvilEnglish called a locksmith the first thing Monday morning. Then, he was on his way to the farmhouse to meet up with the man who was, hopefully, going to be the key to opening the safe. It took the locksmith a half-hour to figure out that the mission was impossible.
The professional would normally have referred EvilEnglish to one of his colleagues if he knew how much work the job entailed. But, like EvilEnglish, the locksmith was now determined to get the safe open.
They Worked For Hours
EvilEnglish and the locksmith weren't going to stop until they got the safe open. After struggling for a few hours, chipping away at concrete, they began to see the latch. That meant that they were eventually going to get the safe open; it was just a matter of when.
A few more hours and a lot of patience later, it began to look like they finally found the opening they needed to crack the safe.
They Cracked The Safe!
Fast forward a few hours, and the locksmith managed to find what they needed to open the safe! It's unknown if the locksmith stayed to see the treasure trove inside the safe, but EvilEnglish wasn't wasting any time.
Was he going to find family heirlooms? Or maybe the contents inside the safe were worth a lot of money, and that's why his grandparents hid them away? The only way to tell was to get everything out of the safe and start examining!
Was It Books, Boxes, Or Something Else?
At first glance, EvilEnglish thought the contents were nothing more than a pile of old books. Or maybe they were boxes? He wasn't sure, but he wasn't going to rule out any possibilities at this time. He had just gotten the safe open, after all!
He began taking the book/boxes out of the safe, and at first, he was a bit disappointed. Where were the antiques and artifacts he thought he was going to find?
He Kept Looking For Answers
As he started to take out the objects from the safe, EvilEnglish's hopes of finding buried treasure began to dwindle as everything was pretty much destroyed. But then he started to look closer at each of the objects, and a new sense of excitement began to wash over him.
There was a vintage coin book that was pretty water damaged, but it was still intact. That meant it survived the farmhouse pipe leak a few years back. There might still be hope for the other objects!
He Found Rare Coins
Unfortunately, there were a bunch of dollar bills that were damaged beyond repair due to the flooding. But there was still much to be excited about! EvilEnglish stumbled upon a collection of rare coins in the safe. They were well-preserved, unlike the bills.
He could safely say that his grandparents had the right idea locking the coins up. But EvilEnglish was only scratching the surface of the safe. There was still more treasure to be found!
Money And More Money
It turned out, as EvilEnglish dug deeper and deeper into the safe, there were more bills. These were damp, but not as damaged as the previous ones he found. He believed that, with some professional help, he'd be able to salvage a few.
Then, getting closer to the bottom of the safe, he found something remarkable. It seemed as though the treasure just kept getting more grandiose the further he dug! You won't believe what was at the bottom.
Thousands Of Dollars In Coins
Toward the bottom of the safe, EvilEnglish believed he'd found hundreds of dollars worth of rare coins. But upon closer inspection, he concluded that it was closer to thousands of dollars!
He's no coin expert, so he was going to have to get a referral and ask a professional how much the coins are worth. But the treasure didn't stop there. EvilEnglish was about to stumble upon something he'd never seen before.
Silver Bars With Historical Inscriptions
Another thing that EvilEnglish came across were silver bars. Unsure of what they were at first, he soon learned their significance. Each of the bars was inscribed with the state names Connecticut, Deleware, and Massachusetts, along with their founding date. He figured they were rare bars, due to their historical significance.
But, like the coins, he was making assumptions and wanted to get a professional's opinion about the artifacts' worth. But the coins and bars weren't the only things EvilEnglish found.
A Strange Box
With all of these findings, EvilEnglish was on cloud nine. The thing is, with all of the rare coins, dollar bills, and historical silver bars, he never would have guessed that the last item he'd take from the safe would pull at his heartstrings.
The final thing he took out of the safe was an overly rusty box. Now, he was no stranger to opening things! So, after some time and persistence, he opened the box.
Grandma's Jewelry
What he discovered inside pulled at his heartstrings. The contents of the old box were some of his grandmother's priceless jewelry. And while the pieces weren't historically significant or worth much, they held plenty of sentimental value.
EvilEnglish was very emotional, holding his grandmother's jewelry. But while he was doing so, something was nagging him. If his grandmother's things were hidden away in this safe, then where were his grandfather's antiques? Surely, there was another safe hidden in the farmhouse.
The Coffee Table Was Next
After putting away the treasure he found, EvilEnglish began to search the rest of the farmhouse. Who knows, maybe there was another safe here that held some of his grandfather's things. He was going to leave no stone unturned, stripping the entire house if need be.
Hey, he had to renovate anyway, right? That's when he noticed a rotting coffee table with a few drawers. Thinking he had nothing to lose, he opened one of the drawers.
Another Safe With "Dangerous" Antiques
There was a safe hidden away in the coffee table! Thankfully, EvilEnglish was able to open the second safe without the help of a locksmith. Once he cracked the safe open, what he found inside wasn't that big of a surprise.
The safe contained some of his grandfather's antique arms, objects that EvilEnglish was curious about because he didn't know their location. But that wasn't the only thing he found in the coffee table safe.
Bills With An Important Signature
With his grandfather's antiques, the rare coins, silver bars, and his grandmother's jewelry, EvilEnglish was about to have a nice payday. Then, he stumbled upon something that was about to increase his find's total worth.
In the second safe, he found dollar bills with Joseph W. Barr's signature. For one month in 1968, Barr was the Secretary of the Treasury. Because of his short term, not many of these notes were produced, making them very valuable.
Asking The Online Community For Help
Proud of his grandparent's valuables, and his treasure hunting skills, EvilEnglish went to the internet. He took pictures of all of his findings and posted them to Reddit in hopes of getting some answers. Most importantly, did anyone know the value of everything?
The online community wasn't too helpful, although they thought his findings were very cool. But there was one Redditor that had a useful bit of information. If he wanted to replace the damaged bills, he should visit the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
How Much Was Everything Worth?
While that information was useful, EvilEnglish still wanted an exact value for the items. He figured he was standing on a goldmine and that everything probably totaled thousands of dollars. "Anything from 1964 or older is 90% silver worth about 20 times face value of the coin," he said.
Then, there was one Reddit user that clued him in on collectors value, saying that coins found in a safe have a value separate from the face value. Either way, EvilEnglish is going to have a nice payout!
