A man decided to purchase a second-hand safe after seeing it listed online but ended up making a staggering discovery when he found a hidden compartment inside
A man was shocked when he made a £28k discovery inside a safe(Image: Getty Images)
A bargain-hunting shopper who purchased an old safe for £12.99 found himself nearly £30,000 better off after peering inside. The man decided to splash out on the second-hand safe after spotting it listed on the internet. Upon inspecting the contents of the safe once he arrived home, he uncovered a 250-gram gold bar concealed within a secret compartment.
The man, who resides in the small Bavarian town of Trostberg, could never have anticipated making such a remarkable find. Based on current gold prices, the bar is estimated to be worth approximately £28,500. Police officers believe the bar was most likely left inside by accident. They revealed that the man got in touch with them as he was concerned about his legal position. Trostberg police spokesman Nicolai Weiss told German newspaper Bild: “The buyer contacted us. He didn’t want to do anything illegal and wanted to know what to do.”
Officers spoke with the safe’s seller, who explained he had listed it for sale on behalf of his 90 year old grandfather, who had in all likelihood left the ingot inside unintentionally. Weiss says it is now down to the buyer and seller to determine what becomes of the bar, reports the Mirror. He went on: “The two parties must now come to an agreement regarding ownership of the gold, or settle the matter through the civil courts, with the assistance of a solicitor.”
It is not the first extraordinary discovery in the German region, either. In 2016, a teenage girl stumbled upon a gold bar while swimming in Koenigssee lake, which is reputed to conceal Nazi treasures. The 16 year old holidaymaker was swimming in the lake when she came across the 500g (1lb) ingot shimmering approximately two metres below the surface. She subsequently handed it in to the local police.
Speculation at the time suggested the bar forms part of a legendary hoard concealed in the lake, which is located not far from Adolf Hitler’s Obersalzberg mountain retreat. German authorities, however, dismissed any Nazi connections, stating that the bar originated from a different era.
The man bought a second-hand safe (stock image)(Image: Getty Images)
They went on to confirm that the surrounding area was thoroughly searched for additional gold, but nothing further was uncovered. The bullion bore the foundry name, though the serial number had been scratched off. Officials nevertheless expressed hope that modern technology would enable them to reunite it with its rightful owner.
Last year a 16-year-old boy reportedly made a similar discovery at the lake. The youngster once again spotted the metalic reflection beneath the water and decided to retrieve the object, later handing it over to the police kept hold of the gold for six months to see if its rightful owner came forward. However, with no one making a claim to the gold, it has now become officially the property of the teenager.
The man discovered a gold bar in the safe(Image: Photographische Dienste Oliver Helbig/Getty Images)
The 500g gold bar had the inscription Degussa Fine Gold 999.9 on it and was thought to have been made between 1990 and 2005. Police searches found no reports of any theft connected to the bar’s serial number and no one reported any missing items that would match the description, police said. They also confirmed there were no disputes about the bar.
Wolfgang Wrzesniok-Rossbach, CEO of Degussa Goldhandel GmbH, believes whoever put the bar in the lake wasn’t a gold expert. And while the object is considered of high value, police say their investigation into the rightful owner went smoothly, with ownership now being passed to the boy.
Koenigssee lake(Image: FHMFHM)
Elsewhere, a town in eastern Germany has been permitted to keep 10 gold bars discovered by a council worker who was mowing the grass. Nobody was able to credibly establish ownership of the bars. As a result, the small town near Dresden will be entitled to retain the bars. Heiko Wersig, mayor of Bannewitz, has indicated that the fate of the bars is due to be determined at the next meeting of the local council.
He added that the intention is for local community groups to benefit from the find. Speaking to German newspaper dpa, he said: “Specifically, this concerns associations involved in youth work and in preserving local traditions and customs.”
The bars are currently being held in police custody and are believed to have an estimated market value of around £34,600 at today’s prices.
