History has its roots deeply embedded in everything nowadays. Museums and art expositions dating centuries back, we treasure our past like our future depends on it.
Which it does, for we cannot look ahead without first checking where we’ve come from. To preserve history is to care for humanity.
But history can just as easily be lost. When we don’t even know what we are searching for, our plans for saving history can backfire in an instant.
This was precisely the case in this story, where good intentions did not matter in the outcome of events.
Many of us are collectors of trinkets. We love the antique-looking objects as much as the next person, but how much value do they actually have?
Most trinkets are more valuable sentimentally than they are in terms of monetary figures. However, this wasn’t the case here.
Kate Harding was a happy 9-year-old living a normal life. One day, she and her mother decided to go gardening as part of their daily activities.
They sought ways to strengthen the bond between mom and daughter, so why not gardening? Well, as it turns out, this simple task threw Kate’s life around many years later.
As a young child, she’d be attracted to shimmering things. It was no surprise she would be the one to dig an old coin out of the dirt, which she blissfully decided to keep.
It was pretty, and not at all like the other coins! The pattern was unique, but aside from storing it next to the toy collection, Kate didn’t think it valued anything.
The little girl who had found a silver-looking coin in her backyard would soon become an astonishing young woman, passionate about the local history and artifacts.
Unfortunately, with her mother’s untimely demise Kate wouldn’t have the opportunity until many years later, to dig deeper into the coin’s real history.
When her mourning had finally ceased, she decided it was time to truly investigate what the coin represented. Perhaps it was the association with her mother that made Kate so adamant on her quest. She needed to know what the coin meant, so she could fully own the one thing she had left to remember her mother by.
So, she’d contact the local museum’s staff.
Even though Kate was the one to contact them, she soon realized they had more questions than answers. The coin intrigued them to an alarming extent, to the point where she wondered if she did the right thing bringing her prized possession to be inspected.
Maybe if she didn’t, nothing of this would’ve unraveled. Maybe she would’ve been spared from the pain that followed.
One thing she learned was that her coin was not a coin at all. It was an incredibly rare artifact! One of the four to be identified in the United Kingdom, and dating for hundreds of years back. What were the odds she’d be the one to discover it?
Some would’ve called it a blessing, she helped contribute to the discovery of our history. Plus, it was surely worth a lot of money. But the odds were not in Kate’s favor.
About 700 years ago, officials and people in high regard would get to use this type of currency. Even at that time, not every commoner could touch one of these rare objects.
It is estimated the one Kate found dates back to Charles IV of France’s reign, around 1322. It should’ve been convincing enough for Kate to give up on the thing she held close, but she had other plans.
After the museum staff let her know the details, they’d offer $3,000 for one piedfort. For almost everyone, that would’ve been satisfying, but Kate was not an ordinary person. The sentimental value she’d established that coin was priced at a much bigger scale than just a couple thousand dollars.
For her, it was something to remember her mother by. No amount of money could’ve filled that empty spot!
Keeping the coin resulted in something Kate only thought about in her nightmares! She had no idea it would lead to such a disaster, or else she might’ve been inclined to give up on the memory of her mother.
Sentimentally aside, it affected her mentally beyond reason! The museum staff was unrelenting in getting that piedfort.
When she wouldn’t be cornered by letters on her doorsteps and mailbox, she’d receive phone calls from them. She couldn’t catch some moments of peace and quietude because of that!
And to add to the pressure, one day a coroner from South Shropshire contacted her personally. How much more did Kate have to endure?
Goes to show that she couldn’t ignore the desperate calls forever. The museum staff took extra precautions in making sure they get their hands on that coin, going as far as summoning Kate to court. The news absolutely crushed her, the police were standing right in front of her doorstep.
And the loophole they had found? Treasure Act 1996.
Treasure Act 1996 made it so objects older than 300 years and consisting of more than 10% rare metals had to be given up to authorities. It was illegal to keep them in one’s possession after being identified, and to make matters worse?
Kate would’ve had to give it up two weeks after finding it. A 9-year-old Kate caused her 23-year-old counterpart too much trouble.
The punishment was rather grave. She would’ve had to spend 3 months of jail time for something she didn’t even know about.
Apparently, the museum staff was extremely serious about retrieving the piedfort and placing it under legal protection, which Kate Harding could not provide. Pressured by the lack of time and scared for what might happen, Kate quickly hired a lawyer named Brendan Reedy to come to her aid.
Her lawyer was good, and he knew how to pry into her enemy’s weaknesses. The organization was a mess, and Kate had not been informed about the whole process, which she should’ve known before getting an appeal to the court.
The negotiation had not been fair to Kate, but even with her lawyer’s astounding presentation, it seemed she wasn’t going to get to keep the coin. What else was there to do?
The court concluded she was to pay a $30 fee at the end of the day. She wasn’t going to get to keep the coin either, but at least she escaped jail time.
Of course, that was far from satisfying for Kate. She knew she was in the right, she just needed a little bit of extra luck to escape the whole ordeal.
As easy as that, Kate Harding claimed she lost the coin. She had no idea where the coin was anymore, and no one could’ve proven her otherwise.
The museum staff, who had previously offered $3,000 for one piedfort, was losing their minds over Kate’s audacity now. Could she even get away with this?
As it turned out, she could. There were no more measures taken by the museum staff or the police.
Kate Harding walked free after facing the threat of both jail time and service fees, just by claiming the coin was no longer in her possession. She could not give something she didn’t even have anymore, so the authorities were forced to retreat.
Kate Harding’s situation attracted many viewers to come and see what will happen. People have been vocal about their disapproval of the justice system where a little girl would be blamed for keeping an object that was valuable for her. The sentence was far greater than the crime, and this is not an isolated case.
However, it is a happy one. No one knows if Kate Harding was telling the truth to this day, yet many people cheered for her no matter what the truth was.