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Gold bars and coins next to construction workers
Stumbling upon buried treasure worth a fortune is usually something that only happens in a movie. However, some construction workers did exactly that while doing work under an abandoned brewery in Belgium, but they won’t be allowed to keep any of the gold bars and coins that were unexpectedly unearthed.
Contrary to popular belief, pirates did not have a habit of burying treasure in desolate locations for safekeeping, and most people who find themselves in possession of a sizable sum of valuables opt for safes, banks, and other traditional forms of security instead of going that route.
However, there are situations where that’s not a practical solution, and there have been more than a few cases where people doing renovations on their home or hired for their construction prowess have stumbled upon a stash that was hidden in a wall or ceiling or lurking underneath the foundation.
It’s rare for those finds to be worth millions of dollars when you consider no sane person is going to willingly part with that much money, but that was the case with a very unexpected treasure trove that was recently unearthed in Europe.
Police swooped in to take possession of $10 million worth of gold coins and bars that were discovered under a brewery in Belgium
According to The New York Times, a brewery was constructed in the Belgian city of Dendermonde in the 1890s that operated until the good times came to an end in 1970. A monastery took possession of the property 12 years later, and it was turned into a transitional shelter for released prisoners.
Last year, it was given to a nonprofit that plans to use it to provide temporary housing to the homeless, an endeavor that has required some renovations. That includes work on the foundation that was being carried out by some construction workers on the morning of August 10th, but it came to a screeching halt after they came across a stash of gold bars and coins while drilling.
Police were quickly notified about the find and took possession of 49 bars of gold (at least one of which was stamped in the 1960s) along with 4,000 coins made from the same material, which they said has an estimated value of around $10 million. However, it’s still unclear who will get to keep the money.
The brewery in question was founded by Théophile van Assche, who had three children who never married and declined to name any heirs before they passed away.
The gold would theoretically be given to the non-profit if no one else comes forward to claim it. However, three people have already asserted they have ties to the family, and investigators are also working to confirm it was not linked to any sort of crime.