An important historical discovery has been made during a routine sewer replacement in Melbourne.
A chest of early Australian coins, with the earliest dating from 1870, had been hidden inside the sewer line under a Toorak property.
The property owner, Les Hughes, is planning on selling the collection to coin collectors in order to pay off his gambling debts. It is believed that the collection is worth several million dollars. Some of the coins may achieve unprecedented bids at auction, as they are the only known surviving examples of their type.
Despite being stored inside the sewer, the coins are still in mint condition. The same cannot be said of the chest, which itself would have been worth several thousand dollars if it had not been water damaged.
Ironically, Hughes had delayed the sewer replacement due to being unable to afford the call-out fee for the drain replacement plumbers. With his newfound wealth, he will be able to afford the maintenance on his eight bedroom property.
It is suspected that the coins were owned by Mr Hughes’ grandfather, who is known to have hid his valuables in his old age.
While Mr Hughes was accustomed to finding money and priceless trinkets around the house that he inherited from his grandfather, this is the first discovery made in a sewer. It is also the single most valuable treasure found on the property.
“I cannot for the life of me figure out how he got the chest of coins in the sewer,” said Hughes.
“I will be getting the sewers looked at with a drain camera, Melbourne sewers are often accessible through secret entrances but I have not worked out where such an entrance may be.”
While this is an unorthodox use of drain camera technology, Hughes is optimistic that the camera will assist him in identifying clues in the sewer system.
Hughes has begun looking for valuables hidden in and around other pipes and sewers on his property, but has not yet found any other treasures.