Mucking around in the dirt, planting seeds, and getting rid of worms might not be everyone’s cup of tea. But sometimes, people find more than lady bugs crawling around in the garden. That’s exactly what happened to a little girl named Kate Harding from the United Kingdom. She had stumbled on a rare and valuable object while gardening with her dear old mother. But it wasn’t until she was an adult that the object affected her life in an unpredictable way.
She Was Playing in the Dirt
Kate Harding was doing what most kids love to do when they’re gardening with their mother. She was playing in the dirt and getting her tiny fingers, hands and arms dirty with mud. But it was in that moment that something caught Kate’s attention.
She Had Found an Object
Kate leaned forward and grabbed the object. After cleaning the dirt off with her fingers, she realized that it was a coin. But she didn’t tell anyone what she had found and instead placed it in her pocket and ran inside to hide her newfound treasure.
She Kept It Safe in Her Room
She spent a whole week flipping the coin through her fingers until she got bored. Then she decided to hide the coin in her dresser drawer. She always meant to go back for it, but she forgot all about it as the years went by.
She Grew Up Too Fast
Many years had gone by since Kate had found that coin in her mother’s garden and she was no longer a little girl. She was, in fact, headed for college when the memory of the coin crept back into her mind. But she had no way of knowing that the coin was going to alter her life forever.
There Was More to the Coin
She had initially assumed that it was nothing more than an old coin that had somehow fallen into the dirt and was left there until she dug it out. As it turned out, there was something about the coin’s history that was destined to change Kate’s future. But first, she had to relive a painful past.
The Coin Brought Memories of Her Mother
As she studied the coin in her hand, she recalled how her mother had passed away a couple of months after she had made this discovery in the garden. Seeing the coin now brought her back to one of the final good memories she had of her mother.
Kate Was Overwhelmed With Grief
It was a difficult period in her life because she never expected to lose her mother so young. It took her years to get over the loss and now this coin had brought the pain back. A part of her wanted to toss the coin back in the drawer and forget about it. But something in her gut told her to do some digging on the coin’s history.
The Coin Was Old
Kate was now 23, but she figured that the coin she had rediscovered was probably a lot older than she was. Was it possible that this was perhaps centuries old? If so, would it be considered a priceless artifact?
She Needed Answers
Kate needed answers, but she was out of her element. She wasn’t sure who to turn to at first. Then she remembered that there were a couple of museums in her area that could shed some light on the coin’s origin and age. But she couldn’t even fathom what an expert was going to reveal.
She Needed a Numismatist
Kate found a numismatist—an expert on various types of currency—at a museum and gave them some insight on how she found the coin all those years ago. But would this numismatist be able to figure out the coin’s history?
They Wanted the Coin
The museum was intrigued by Kate’s discovery and asked her if they could hold on to the coin while they searched for some of the answers she was looking for. She was a bit apprehensive at first, but eventually conceded. But would Kate be prepared to accept the results?
The Coin Was a Rare Discovery
When Kate returned to the museum, she learned that the coin was one of four of its kind that had been found in the United Kingdom. As a result, this coin was very rare indeed. But as it turns out, it wasn’t what it appeared to be.
It Wasn’t a Coin
The numismatist told her that the coin she had given them wasn’t actually a coin. Kate was immediately stunned by the revelation. But it if it wasn’t a coin, what on Earth could it have been?
It Was a Piedfort
The coin Kate had found was actually a piedfort. A piedfort is a thick metallic piece that is often confused for a coin. But it's not technically currency. And yet, she still had more questions than she had answers about the object.
She Had a Lot of Questions
Kate had no idea how a piedfort had wound up buried in her mother’s garden all those years ago. She still wasn’t even sure what purpose a piedfort served. But the truth was about to make her question everything she thought she knew.
Piedfort is Rare and Valuable
Although a piedfort has never been circulated as a currency, it is considered very valuable because it is such a rare commodity in the world. But how old was this one and what was its intended purpose?
It Was Very Old
According to the analysis conducted by the numismatist, the piedfort could have potentially been more than 700 years old. But no one had any idea what it was used for. And yet, there was one theory.
They Had a Theory
Some experts theorized that piedforts were once used in the business world to calculate total costs. But after doing some more extensive research, the museum determined where the piedfort’s origins was from.
The Piedfort’s Origins May Have Been French
Kate’s piedfort was probably made to honor French sovereign Charles IV in 1322. And while it wasn’t currency, it was worth a lot of money. And this was actually very good news for Kate given the circumstances of her life.
She Was Struggling Financially
Like most college students, Kate was struggling to make ends meet. So, when she heard that the piedfort was valuable, she did a little happy dance. All she had to do was sell it and she wouldn’t have to worry about money while she worked on her degree. But how much was it worth?
It Was Worth a Few Grand
Kate asked the numismatist how much the piedfort was and he claimed that it was probably about $3,000. While that wasn’t the amount that she was hoping for, it was still some pretty decent amount of cash. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned.
She Wasn’t the Legitimate Owner
It’s true that Kate had found the piedfort in the garden as a child and had kept it in her possession all these years. But she wasn’t legally its owner, so if she sold the piedfort, she wouldn’t be able to profit from it.
The British Police Kept Her From Selling
Kate was trying to figure out who to sell the coin to when all of a sudden, the British Police intervened and told her she had no right to this historical artifact. To make things worse, they demanded that she hand over the coin.
The Authorities Didn’t Give Her a Choice
Kate was in quite a jam. The historical significance of the piedfort meant that she couldn’t claim ownership, but she felt conflicted about giving it up. After all, it brought back memories of her departed mother. But that wasn’t her only issue.
The Museum Wanted the Piedfort
The museum had already told Kate that they wanted to buy the piedfort. But with the cops at her doorstep, that no longer seemed like a viable option. What’s more, she didn’t have a lot of time.
Kate Had to Decide Fast
She was either going to have to keep the piedfort for herself and make a run for it or she was going to have to turn it into the police. But she didn’t want to do the latter because they would just hand it into the museum free of charge.
She Made a Bold Decision
After hours of debating with herself, Kate decided that she wasn’t going to give the piedfort to the authorities. But they weren’t the only ones who were disappointed. She also decided not to sell it to the museum either.
The Police Didn’t Give Up
As far as Kate was concerned, the decision about who owned the piedfort had already been made. But the authorities didn’t give up and neither did the museum. In fact, they continued their attempts to acquire it from Kate. But how far were they willing to go?
The Museum Sent Her Letters
The museum was obsessed with the piedfort. Acquiring it had become an obsession and they started sending her letters demanding that she surrender the valuable artifact to them. But she wasn’t about to cave to their demands.
She Ignored Them All
Not only did she ignore the British cops’ original demands but also the museum’s various letters and phone calls. For a time, her evasive tactics seemed to work. But the museum had other plans and took an unexpected action that Kate was unprepared for.
The Museum Worked With Authorities
The museum knew the police wanted the piedfort, too. So, they called the South Shropshire police and forged an alliance with them to take the artifact by any means necessary. But did Kate give in and cooperate when they came looking for her?
Cops Handed Her a Court Summons
Officer Anthony Sibcy walked up to Kate’s door, and when she answered, he gave her a court summons. She was obviously shocked because she didn’t feel she had broken any laws by keeping the piedfort. But the cops didn’t agree.
Kate Got a Crash Course in British Law
Kate always assumed that anything she found in her backyard belonged to her. But British authorities were telling her she was wrong and that there were laws to ensure historical artifacts didn’t fall into the public’s hands.
Kate Realized She Broke the Law
It took her a while, but Kate had finally realized that she had in fact broken British law by refusing to hand the artifact over to the museum and the cops. But what specific law had she broken and was she going to be punished?
She Broke the Treasure Act of 1996 Law
Kate was going to go down in history as the first person to get prosecuted for breaking The Treasure Act of 1996 law. This left her speechless because she never thought that the piedfort she had discovered in her garden all those years ago would be her downfall.
The Law Was Quite Clear
Kate may have been ignorant of the law then, but she wasn’t anymore. It was quite clear that anyone who found an object that was a historical artifact was obligated to report it to the proper authorities right away. Although she didn’t kill anyone, they couldn’t exactly let her get away with what she had done.
Kate Had Violated the Law for Years
The Treasure Act of 1996 also stated that any item found that was older than 300 years and contained 10 percent precious metal had to be reported to the cops within 14 days of their discovery. Kate had held onto the piedfort for decades.
Being Ignorant Was No Excuse
Kate told the authorities that when she dug up the piedfort as a child, she didn’t tell a soul, not even her own mother. But the authorities didn’t care for her excuses. As far as they were concerned, ignorance of the law didn’t excuse her.
She Could Have Faced Time Behind Bars
Kate was in quite a legal predicament. Failing to give up the artifact to authorities was bad enough. But it was also documented that she had refused to surrender the piedfort to the museum. And now it seemed like she could face some serious time behind bar. What was she going to do?
She Needed Legal Representation
There was no way that she was going to be able to fight this on her own. She needed someone who was an expert on the law. So, she started looking for the best defense that money could buy. But would it be enough?
Kate Got Herself a Lawyer
Kate hired Brendan Reedy, an attorney with tons of experience defending people in front of the magistrate’s court. In fact, he had earned quite a reputation for winning cases. But could he help her the way he had helped so many others?
He Wanted to Prove Her Innocence
As soon as Reedy heard what Kate was being accused of, he knew in his heart that she wasn’t a criminal. So, he assured her that he was going to do everything in his power to get her cleared of these unfair charges.
They Presented Her Case
Reedy worked with Kate and decided that the best course of action was to explain how she had found the piedfort when she was five and that it was emotionally significant to her. But would this change the magistrates’ minds?
Kate Still Wanted It
Despite being in trouble, Kate wanted to keep the piedfort and hoped that she could appeal to the court’s humanity once they understood why it reminded her of the time she once spent with her mother.
She Would Probably Lose the Piedfort
As the case continued, Kate came to a painful realization. As badly as she wanted the piedfort, she knew that she was going to lose it in the final ruling. But she was no quitter so she hatched up a brilliant plot to keep the piedfort from falling into the authorities’ hands.
She Was Released on One Condition
After deliberating, the courts decided not to put Kate in prison but only on the condition that she gave the piedfort to the British Museum. She was also required to pay a couple of legal fees. But she wasn’t ready to let go just yet.
Kate Had One More Trick Up Her Sleeve
Kate could have ended up behind bars but her lawyer did a great job at preventing that from happening. And yet, she hadn’t learned her lesson. She still wanted the piedfort and decided to have one more conversation with the authorities about the artifact.
The Piedfort Went Missing
When Kate spoke to the authorities once again, she told them that somehow, the piedfort had vanished. As upset as they were with her, they bought her story and she was never contacted by them or the museum. But there was still one injustice that needed to be cleared up.
The Community Defended Her
Despite not going to prison, Kate still had a criminal record and that didn’t sit well with a local named Alan. So, he gathered support from the rest of the community to pressure the government into expunging her record on the fact that Kate’s trial had been unfair.
She Won the Appeal
The community’s efforts paid off and Kate’s record was cleared. But there’s still no evidence that suggests that she actually lost the piedfort. But even if she lied and it’s still in her possession, neither the courts nor the museum can do anything about it.