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    Secret $1 million gold stash discovered in French rafters

    (AP/Sotheby's)A French Champagne producer is spreading the wealth with his workers after they discovered nearly $1 million in gold coins stashed away in the building's rafters, according to Agence France Press (AFP).

    "One of the workers (was) attacking the building's ceiling with a crowbar when gold coins started to rain down on him, followed by sacks of gold," Francois Lange, head of Alexandre Bonnet in Les Riceys France, told AFP.

    It's not unusual to hear about treasure hunters combing the ocean's depth for gold and other precious metals lost at sea, but finding $1 million in your office attic is quite a steal. And a valuable one too, given that demand for gold has reached new heights recently. In 2011, just an ounce of gold was valued at $1,920.30.

    In all, 497 gold coins were unearthed, with the majority literally raining down upon the workers who were busy renovating the building. Minted between 1851 and 1928, the coins have a face value marking of $20 each. However, together they are now worth an estimated $980,000, according to AFP.

    Lange says he will keep half of the money for himself, while splitting half with the workers who made the discovery. No one knows for sure who placed the coins in the building, but AFP reports the building was previously owned by a wine producer in the 1930s.

    That may seem like a minor detail for now but don't be surprised if this "buried" treasure story still has another chapter to be told. After all, what are the odds that $1 million in gold coins will go unclaimed, even if the previous owners are no longer alive. Just look at the recent legal case being argued between Spain and a team of scavengers who in 2008 found more than $500 million worth of gold coins and other treasures in a wreck off the Florida coast.

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    • BIGBLUE  •  3 mths ago
      I have been working construction for 25 years the only thing i find is mouse droppings or dead animals.
      • Ted Koppel 3 mths ago
        Or bats and bees.
      • Rick K 3 mths ago
        They may want to look a little closer. The owner is probably in the attic with his gold.
      • display name 3 mths ago
        any bodies??
    • Fred  •  Meriden, Connecticut  •  3 mths ago
      Classy of the building owner to share.
      • awesome sauce 3 mths ago
        classy of the workers to let him know what they found imo
      • LeoMoon 3 mths ago
        you guys are both right!
      • Gregory 3 mths ago
        Now who is the lone a.h. that didn't like this post?
    • Steve  •  Harborcreek, Pennsylvania  •  3 mths ago
      It's a pleasure to see that the workers honesty is being rewarded by the owner. It goes both ways. They could have kept it for themselves, and he could have kept it all to himself. Everyone wins on this one.
      • dons 3 mths ago
        Mostly the taxman though.
      • jeff 3 mths ago
        hey steve ,im from harborcreek too
      • Loma Linda 3 mths ago
        well the big winner is the owner.. he kept half of the loot!!!! if it was a win win.. should've been shared equally amongst everybody... but again... better than not getting anything!!!!
    • Louise  •  3 mths ago
      My Mother and Step-Father had a re-upholstering business in the 1950's, they found a loose diamond in a sofa they were stripping for upholstery. They had it tested--found it was indeed a diamond then called the owner of the sofa and telling her of the find. It was from her wedding/engagement ring set and she was very emotional and thrilled to get the original stone back.
      • bob 3 mths ago
        Nice!!!!
      • MikeS 3 mths ago
        Not every person is just out for themselves, you did a very good thing.
      • Andrew 3 mths ago
        Why have it tested? Just give it back.......
    • display name  •  3 mths ago
      I FOUND a locket once while removing the back seats of a car while replacing the rear struts.when the woman picked her car up i returned the locket.she began crying and became very emotional.it was her granmothers and had ben lost for 14 years...i have a customer for life now..i was happy for her.
      • Chris 3 mths ago
        Congrats for your honesty! Great job!
      • snoops 3 mths ago
        thanks for being honest.............
      • Lou 3 mths ago
        Cool dude. If you're in Denver, you got my business!
    • PACO_BILLO  •  Tampa, Florida  •  3 mths ago
      When I was 19 years I was working in a home cleaning service, during the cleaning I had to move a sofa to get some dust that had settled in the back, I found a small gold ring, I let the owner know and she was happy. When her daughter came home from working a part time job and saw it she was so excited, it was one of the last things her father gave her before passing away. To finish the story we have been married for 21 years now, with three daughters. Thank God for my honesty!!!
    • doug  •  Los Angeles, California  •  3 mths ago
      Very Nice of the owner to split the loot
    • Frano  •  Urbana, Illinois  •  3 mths ago
      when the owner bought the house he also bought the gold that was in it, n what a heck of a good guy he is for sharing
    • A Yahoo! User  •  3 mths ago
      Wait until they unwrap one and find chocolate inside.
    • Chris  •  Austin, Texas  •  3 mths ago
      I bet it was hidden from the nazis.....
    • Jack  •  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania  •  3 mths ago
      I was thinking it was hidden from nazis too. They occupied France during ww2 and would of taken it all if it wasn't hidden well.
    • JimH  •  Mobile, Alabama  •  3 mths ago
      What luck. The way my luck goes, if it had been me, there would have been several bags of horse crap falling all over me.
    • James Lang  •  Atlanta, Georgia  •  3 mths ago
      if i was to find gold anywhere i wouldnt tell a soul i`d take it home melt it down and make my own ingots
    • B.G.  •  Flint, Michigan  •  3 mths ago
      I found $20.00 once and I got to keep it all!!
    • Scott M  •  3 mths ago
      I found a skeleton behind a wall on a room I was renovating. Turned out it was a hide n go seek champion from 1921 that is all
    • Free-Bird  •  3 mths ago
      Some poor guy probably sat at a desk right under that part of the room for the biggest part of his whole life wishing he would hit it rich some day. Little did he know that a treasure was above his head all of those years... poor guy.
    • Christina G  •  3 mths ago
      They shouldn't have told anyone. Fifth cousins of the deceased will be coming out of the woodwork.
    • Joey Bagga-donuts  •  3 mths ago
      Man after reading this artical i tore all my cielings down only to find isulation...then i remembered i bought my home new 10 years ago....hmmm..should`ve put more thought into that!
    • Jenny  •  3 mths ago
      Magnificent that the owner is sharing half the gold with those who work for him and found it. I am appalled that Spain was given custody of treasures it stole from the Aztecs and other peoples and that the treasure hunting firm that recovered it is out cold.
    • Yee Haw  •  Kingman, Arizona  •  3 mths ago
      Last summer we ripped down a ceiling in our 19th century house. It rained rat turds, dust, and spider webs down on us. It reminded us the shape of our economy today, and had the same value.
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