The Auction Find Worth Millions

Once upon a time, Redland House Hotel in Chester, England, was considered one of the most luxurious hotels in the quaint town of Hoof Green. Over the years, both its exterior and interior aged, prompting the hotel staff to undertake significant renovations. They called in a construction crew and aimed to discard all outdated furniture to make room for more modern pieces.

Among the items destined for the dumpster was a bed that had occupied one of the hotel suites for 15 years. It had a lovely oak frame, but the construction crew wasn't there to admire its beauty. They were there to clear out the old and dismantled it piece by piece. As the renovation workers carried the parts to the parking lot, despite being taken apart, the bed remained unscathed.

The bed featured interesting carvings that made it stand out among the other furniture slated for disposal, so the hotel staff decided to auction it off. Ian Coulson, a bed expert, saw the bed, placed a bid, and won the auction, but even he didn’t initially grasp its true value. Coulson bid £2,200, about 10,000 shekels, for good reason. He'd seen a bed like this online described as a "19th-century Gothic revival," but suspected the listing was incorrect.

As an expert, he recognized peculiar elements suggesting this bed was far older. He examined the paintwork on the bed and concluded the wood was European oak, grown and imported by medieval craftsmen. Coulson suspected the bed frame dated back to the 15th century, but to validate his theory, he sought the help of a historian named Jonathan Foyle. Up until that point, he had no idea just how significant his purchase was.

In an interview, Foyle explained that beneath the wood's varnish, remnants of late medieval ornamentation were found. The most impressive carving on the bed was of King Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, although there were other motifs like strawberries and acorns. Foyle was fairly certain the bed once belonged to someone very significant.

Foyle firmly believed the bed's owner was King Henry VII, who ruled England from 1485 to 1509 with his wife Elizabeth of York. If his assessment proved correct, the bed's value would far exceed what Coulson paid for it.

Foyle and Coulson teamed up to conduct DNA testing on the bed's wood to verify their suspicions. When the results finally came in, they were thrilled. As they suspected, the bed was constructed in the 15th century by medieval craftsmen and did belong to King Henry VII. The bed frame transformed into one of England's most historically significant artifacts. Naturally, once the results were confirmed, museums across the country clamored for it. Coulson knew they’d be willing to pay any price to acquire it.

With this newfound revelation, the bed's value skyrocketed from £2,200 to a staggering £20 million. But for Coulson, it wasn't about the money. As a historian, he felt the bed had a grander purpose, that it deserved to be showcased as a museum piece. He donated it to the "Chester" Castle in England, where it was featured in an exhibition. Later, it also starred in a documentary and was featured in another exhibition in England.

The bed traveled quite a bit before making its way back to Coulson, becoming a permanent fixture in his collection. Today, he shares its historical significance with anyone interested.