Posted on 08/15/2026 3:55:42 PM PDT by Red Badger
One person’s trash dramatically turned into another’s treasure as workers in Belgium happened upon a gold hoard worth more than $10 million while installing a sewer line in a building they were renovating.
“Our first reaction was actually disbelief,” Kobe, an 18-year-old student worker, told Belgium outlet VRT. “Of course, we hadn’t expected to find gold.”
At the time, the construction crew was renovating a building in the city center of the Flemish community of Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde, located about 40 miles from Brussels.
During the building rehab, workers were removing the foundation to make way for a sewer pipe when they “suddenly saw something lying there,” Kobe recalled.
At first they though it was a cache of one-Euro coins. Then someone identified a gold nugget.
“I went to look and took the gold in my hands,” recalled the site manager Mario. “We kept digging up new coins and bars as well. Only then did it really sink in what we had found. That was a crazy feeling.”
He added, “After 33 years in construction, it is the first time I have experienced something like this.”
The hoard of ingots and bullion amounted to around 9 million Euros or approximately $10.4 million USD, the New York Post reported.
Belgium laws, however, applied to the treasure trove. Regulations forced the crew to hand over the previous metals to police. Taking them, authorities said, would have been theft.
“There are so many coins and bars — it would be almost impossible [to take],” said Mario. “Besides, that would be theft.”
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
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$4000 an ounce now? Sheesh- i remember back when it was worth hardly anything- $40 an ounce maybe back in the 70’s or so
This might have been a hoard from WW II. A lot of gold disappeared during that time to keep it away from the nazis.
wy69
The Americans needed a tank to bust through the door of the bank so they brought a German tank crew in on the deal.
What rock have you been living under? Is there room for more than one person?
I read about that. And I used to work construction. And, guaranteed, if me and my crew had found that stash, you would not be reading about it.
It would be difficult to keep it a secret in the long term. Let’s say there were 10 guys on your crew. Each guy gets a million in gold bars and coins. Everyone is sworn to secrecy.
The first problem, several might decide they want to quit their job all at once. Or they go on a wild spending spree and start driving Maseratis. Their wife gets in a big snit, and blabs to the authorities during their contentious Divorce, all kinds of issues could crop up.
Nice problem to have, though! I could deal with it, I’m quite certain.
[NY Post] "Under Belgian law, the rightful owner has five years to lay claim to the fortune. If they don’t, the forgotten gold can be divided between the finder and property owner provided it’s not associated with a crime."
James Bond to Auric Goldfinger: “I stand corrected, Goldfinger. Your plan is inspired.”
Quite possibly hid it on the sly and then died somehow.
While replacing the sidewalk behind my house a few years ago I found six 1919 pennies.
My biggest score to date.
My pockets would have been full before I said anything to anyone else!!
Exactly. Nobody “forgets” about large stashes of gold bars. There’s a story behind this.
In the early days of the internet, Usenet days, there was a tale someone told about a buddy of his. Rural area, his buddy was knocking down an old farmhouse. One day he was at the local Quick Trip gassing up his car. His buddy pulls in next to him, motions him over to the trunk of his car. Inside, it was FULL of bundles of cash. Lots and lots of cash. He said his buddy drove away, and he never saw him again. What was the story on that? Maybe some sort of Soviet intrigue, and they never got back to their money. Or just a Farmer who didn’t like banks. Who knows.
great movie! I’m gonna watch it right now!!
I’m digging up my sewer line now.
” I’m gonna watch it right now!!”
I was just thinking the same thing. Been a long time since I last watched it.
I wonder what era the gold was from?
The coins all look a consistent size.
Bingo. Every govt at every level in that area will lay claim to the gold.
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