He renovated his house and found a chest full of gold | the Chronicle

We all hear the story of a hidden treasure, a relic from the past buried or hidden to be discovered years later by a lucky person. Typically, these incredible finds live in the movies, but a couple in the west France he lived the fantasy in his own house.

Francois MionThe 63-year-old bought the old mansion with his wife when it was still three separate buildings and set out to remodel it to restore it to its former glory. It was during the year 2019, when the owner ordered the craftsmen he had hired to join the three buildings, that the amazing discovery.

“The box was embedded in the wall, stuck between stones“The owner assured the AFP news agency. Inside the old metal box were dozens of gold coins, stamped in France during the reigns of Louis XIII (1610-1643) and Louis XVI (1645-1715). A few days later, the workers dug up a second treasure from inside the walls of the property: a bag hidden at the top of a beam containing a second batch of gold coins.

The second discovery brought the total of coins to 239. Among the historical relics were found golden louis and double louis d’or, rare pieces still preserved in the museums of the European nation. One of these coins, minted in 1646, has an estimated value of € 15,000; equivalent to $ 17,780 dollars or $ 1,744,481 Argentine pesos.

What will they do with the fortune?

The Mions, luckily and thanks to legal technicality, they will be able to keep the small fortune who will bring them their treasure. The case is exceptional, since according to French law, any archaeological discovery is automatically they belong to the state if they are on private property. However, the law was approved in 2016, while the couple acquired the property (and all that it contains) in 2012.

Authorized to keep the profits, the couple handed over the pieces to the Ivoire Angers auction house. The treasure will be finished at the end of September this year, it is expected that for a gain of between € 250,000 to € 30,000 euros, amount equivalent to more than 3 million Argentinian pesos.

As confirmed by the AFP agency, the proceeds of the auction will be divided between the Mion and the workers who found the rare pieces. Florian D’Oysonville, an antique dealer from Ivory Coast, reported that the origin of the pieces or the reason for their concealment is not known, but that they most likely belonged to a rich merchant or farmer of the time.