Century-old coin found in time capsule hidden beneath floor

The box contained coins from the early 1900s

How well do you know the hiding spots where you live?

The chances are that you know them better than anyone that doesn't live with you, but that isn't always the case.

A woman in Swindon learned about the existence of a time capsule hidden somewhere in her home, while selling a table online.

A time capsule is a container filled with items that represent life in the present day. The capsule is meant to be stored safely and opened by people at some point in the future as a way for them to learn about what life used to be like.

Madeline Goodwin said she previously had "no idea it was there" but eventually found the time capsule, containing the century-old coin, after hours of searching.

Madeline said she planned to add her own objects to the time capsule

Madeline was selling a table online and when a woman came to collect it, the buyer revealed the house had been in her family for years.

The buyer said the time capsule was started a century ago and had been left under the floorboards when she sold the house in 2007.

As soon as the buyer left, Madeline said she got to work finding the time capsule.

After two hours of meticulous searching, she found what she was looking for.

The time capsule was hidden underneath the floorboards

The time capsule contained newspaper clippings, an old Bible, coins from the early 1900s, a cigarette packet and a letter.

Unfortunately it is no longer possible to make out the writing in the letter, but Madeline says she plans to write her own message to add to the time capsule.

She said she intends to put the capsule back in a secret hiding place when she eventually sells the house.

"We have already started thinking about what to put in it," she added.