A French man made a stunning discovery earlier this year when he unearthed gold worth about $800,000 while digging a swimming pool in his garden, local officials confirmed.
The man immediately informed authorities after finding the treasure in May. The local council in Neuville-sur-Saône, eastern France, determined that the gold did not come from an archaeological site, allowing him to legally keep it.
According to local newspaper Le Progrès, the find included five gold bars and numerous coins buried in plastic bags. Police investigations revealed that the gold had been legally acquired and melted down roughly 15 to 20 years ago at a nearby refinery.
Since the gold bars had traceable serial numbers and were not reported stolen, the man was cleared to retain his unexpected fortune.
Under France’s 19th-century civil code, treasure is defined as “any hidden or buried thing over which no one can prove ownership, and which is discovered purely by chance.” The law states that any treasure found on one’s own property belongs to the finder.
The previous property owner has since died, leaving the origin of the gold a mystery.
As of Thursday, the price of gold reached a record $4,017.33 per ounce, according to American Hartford Gold.
Similar discoveries have surfaced in recent years. In 2024, a Northern California couple stumbled upon $10 million worth of rare coins from the 1800s while hiking on their land. In 2023, a man in Germany found gold bars and coins valued at over $150,000 in his apartment, and a year earlier, a British couple uncovered 260 gold coins beneath their kitchen floor, which later sold for nearly $1 million at auction.
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