Man discovers hidden gold bars, coins worth $5 million in inherited house

Nearly $5 million worth of gold bars and coins was recently discovered by an unnamed French man in a home he inherited from a deceased relative.

According to a report by AFP News Agency, the man discovered thousands of gold bars and coins hidden throughout the home in Evreux, a town south of Rouen, France.

Nicolas Fierfort, an auctioneer with Evreux, told AFP: “It was under the furniture, under piles of linen, in the bathroom … everywhere.”

“There were 5,000 gold pieces, two 12-kilo gold bars and 37 ingots each weighing one kilo,” added Fierfort, who admitted missing the gold when he first viewed the home.

The home’s heir was the first to notice the gold, which was discovered throughout the house. Certificates proving the gold was legally acquired in the 1950s and 1960s were also found in the home; however, the home’s heir—whose name and relation to the deceased weren’t revealed—may have to pay taxes on his discovery.

The gold was sold for a total price of €3.5 million (about $5 million Cdn.) between Oct. 30 and Nov. 8; however, the home’s heir could be forced to forfeit 45 per cent of this total under French inheritance and tax laws. The heir may also have to pay wealth tax if his deceased relative failed to do so in the last three years before his death, added the AFP report.

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