Two children in Vendôme, north-western France, have benefited from the lockdown after they discovered hidden treasure in their grandparents’ house.
In search of material to build a den, they asked their father what they could use.
“He advised them to take their grandmother’s sheets, in an unused room. But instead of finding sprigs of lavender between the sheets, as people used to do, two fairly heavy objects fell out,” auctioneer Philippe Rouillac told French TV channel BFM.
The kids put the objects back without another thought, but a few hours later told their father about the discovery. He asked them to go and get them, but initially thought they were knife holders.
Later, he contacted an auction house to get an estimate and was told he had found two gold bars weighing 1kg (2.2lb) each. Their worth? More than €50,000 (£45,000) per bar.
“The children said to their father: ‘We’re going to be able to have a swimming pool’,” the amused auctioneer recalled.
Vendômois : les lingots d’or dormaient entre les draps ! https://t.co/BDx0Onx3ml
— ROUILLAC (@RouillacSas) May 19, 2020
