FRENCHMAN FINDS MILLIONS IN GOLD THROUGHOUT HOUSE

A Frenchman who inherited a large house from a relative has found an astonishing 100kg (220lb) haul of gold hidden under the furniture.

The unnamed heir discovered the glittering hoard in a variety of inventive locations, including under piles of linen and in the bathroom.

"There were 5,000 gold pieces, two bars of 12kg and 37 ingots of 1kg," auctioneer Nicolas Fierfort told AFP.

The treasure is worth an estimated €3.5m ($3.7m; £3m).

Mr Fierfort said he had visited the house in Evreux, Normandy, to value furniture the new owner was selling.

He said he totally overlooked the gold, which was "extremely well hidden".

The coins and gold bars only came to light when the house's new owner started moving things around.

First, he found a tin box of coins screwed to the underside of some furniture.

Then came more, carefully concealed in a box meant for a bottle of whisky.

Finally, the man unearthed a staggering pile of gold bars and ingots.

"At that point he called his solicitor to make an inventory," Mr Fierfort said.

According to certificates found in the deceased's estate, the gold was legally purchased in the 1950s and 1960s.

To read the complete article, see:
French heir finds $3.7m gold hoard underneath furniture in house (www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38072135)

This is not the the first time hidden gold has been found in a property in this area of Normandy.

In 2011, three builders struck gold, finding almost a million euros’ worth of ingots and coins buried in the back garden of a house where they had been working on an extension.

Several large glass jars contained 16 gold bars weighing 2.2lbs each, and 600 gold coins from 1924 and 1927. The stash had probably been hidden for safekeeping during the Second World War.

But rather than alert the owner of the house to their discovery, the workers agreed to discreetly steal the fabulous treasure and sell it to a coin collector in the area.

By the time tax inspectors caught up with them, they had already treated themselves to several cars and motorbikes with the ill-gotten gains, but had invested the lion's share – several hundred thousand euros – in life insurance and on improving their own homes.

To read the complete article, see:
French man discovers gold bars worth €3.5m after inheriting home (www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/22/french-man-discovers-gold-bars-worth-35m-inheriting-home/)

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