Digging swimming pool, French man finds gold coins, bars worth $800,000, allowed to keep

The man informed the authorities after he found the gold in May, and they allowed him to keep it as it was not in an archaeological reserve.

A Frenchman found a gold treasure worth $800,000 (over ₹7 crore) while digging a swimming pool in his garden, officials said.

The man informed the authorities after he found the gold in May, and they allowed him to keep it as it was not in an archaeological reserve. (Unsplash)

The man informed the authorities after he found the gold in May, and they allowed him to keep it as it was not in an archaeological reserve, the council in the eastern town of Neuville-sur-Saone said on Wednesday, according to an AFP news agency report.

He discovered "five gold bars and many coins." They had been buried inside plastic bags, local newspaper Le Progrès reported.

The police found that the gold had been acquired legally and had been melted "15 or 20 years ago" at a nearby refinery.

The previous owner of the garden has died, the town hall stated, and no one knows how the gold ended up in the garden.

When hikers stumbled on gold in Czech Republic

In another instance from the Czech Republic, two tourists hiking stumbled upon a buried treasure trove full of gold coins and bracelets worth $341,000 ( ₹2.8 crore).

They discovered the treasure hidden inside two containers in a wall in a field in February, according to a Facebook post from the Museum of East Bohemia.

The hikers found two boxes containing gold coins, bracelets, and cigarette cases, weighing a total of 6.8 kg.

When they opened the boxes, they saw 598 gold coins “divided into 11 columns and wrapped in black fabric” in one container, while another box stored about three feet away held the bracelets and other objects.

The museum, which received the treasure, said the hikers stumbled upon it after noticing a can sticking out of a crack in the wall and deciding to investigate further.