A man from Bishop Stortford, Essex recently found out that one of the coins among his son's pirate treasure collection is an extremely rare 18th century gold coin made in 1703. The Essex resident said that the coin was given to him by his grandfather and thought no better of it other than a shiny trinket. Years passed and he gave the coin to his son as part of the child's own treasure trove.

18th Century Gold Coin Came From Owner's Worldly Grandfather

The man, however, got curious if the coin held any value and so contacted a specialist for appraisal. He went to the Bonington auction house where he talked with coin expert Gregory Tong. Upon seeing the piece, Tong immediately recognized it as the rare Queen Anne Vigo five guinea piece.

The trinket, it turns out, is an 18th century gold coin that's part of fewer than 15 examples making the piece exceptionally unique indeed. It was made in 1703 as a propaganda campaign to draw the attention away from the British due to its failure in capturing the Cadiz port the previous year. They did, however, managed to seize Franco-Spanish treasure ships that were returning from America, which were carrying gold and silver.

The spoils were sailed towards London and were handed over to the Royal Mint received by then Master of the Mint, Sir Isaac Newton, Metro reported. The coin eventually made its way towards the grandfather of the anonymous Essex resident. He told Tong that his granddad was a worldly man, traveling to different countries during his working life collecting coins as he did.

Sale Of Vigo Piece Expected To Break Bonington's Record Sale

"He gave me bags of coins to play with throughout my early years because I was into pirate treasure," the man said. Years passed and these coins went from the playroom to being stored in boxes collecting dust in a corner. The anonymous man recalled how he would make up stories about his pirate treasure when he was little and eventually handed his collection to his son as part of the child's trove.

The 18th century gold coin is scheduled for auction next month and is only the sixth of its type to be offered for sale in the last 50 years, STV reported The Vigo piece is expected to fetch a gleaming price of £250,000 ($305,000) and is poised to break Bonington's record of £200,000. The previous record was set earlier this year by the sale of a painting by Sir Winston Churchill.