Gold pieces, bars, and ingots were hidden throughout the estate

A man has discovered $3.7 million worth of gold hidden in his house in Normandy, France.

The man, who remains unnamed, inherited the house from a distant relative and found the gold, in the form of coins, bars, and ingots, when he inspected the property, located in the town of Evreux.

The entire collection was sold at the auction house of Evreux. Certificates of authenticity were found at the estate, dating the gold to the 1950s and 1960s.

“There were 5,000 gold pieces, two 12-kilo gold bars, and 37 ingots, each weighing one kilo,” Nicolas Fierfort, auctioneer at the Evreux auction house, told The Telegraph. “It was extremely well hidden—under furniture, under piles of linen, in the bathroom. Basically, it was stashed everywhere!”

Among the hiding places: a tin-plate box screwed under a piece of furniture and a whiskey bottle.

The inheritor will have to pay 45 percent inheritance tax, plus up to three years’ back taxes. 

JCK