A man in Neuville-sur-Saône, eastern France, found about $800,000 worth of gold bars and coins while digging a swimming pool in May. Police traced serial numbers on the bars and determined the metal had been legally acquired and likely melted at a nearby refinery 15–20 years ago. Under France's 19th‑century civil code, treasure found on private land may belong to the finder if no prior ownership can be proven, so the homeowner was allowed to keep the hoard. The origin of the buried gold remains unknown.
Homeowner Uncovers $800,000 in Gold Bars and Coins While Digging a Pool in France
A man in Neuville-sur-Saône, eastern France, found about $800,000 worth of gold bars and coins while digging a swimming pool in May. Police traced serial numbers on the bars and determined the metal had been legally acquired and likely melted at a nearby refinery 15–20 years ago. Under France's 19th‑century civil code, treasure found on private land may belong to the finder if no prior ownership can be proven, so the homeowner was allowed to keep the hoard. The origin of the buried gold remains unknown.
22:27, 07.11.2025Society
Man discovers $800,000 in gold while digging a swimming pool
A homeowner in Neuville-sur-Saône, in eastern France, discovered a hoard of gold valued at about $800,000 while digging a swimming pool earlier this year, local officials and the regional paper Le Progrès reported.
The find, made in May, included "five gold bars and many coins" wrapped in plastic bags. The man informed local authorities, who examined the cache and determined it did not come from an archaeological site — a key factor under French law — and therefore allowed him to keep it.
Investigators traced the gold bars using their serial numbers and concluded the metal had been legally acquired. Police said the items appeared to have been melted down at a nearby refinery roughly "15 or 20 years ago," and no evidence suggested they were stolen.
Text from France's 19th‑century civil code (as cited): "Any hidden or buried thing over which no one can prove their ownership, and which is discovered purely by chance."
The municipality noted the previous owner of the plot has died, and how the gold came to be buried there remains a mystery.
Context and similar discoveries
For context, American Hartford Gold quoted the price of gold at about $4,017.33 per ounce on Thursday, a figure that helps explain the find's estimated value.
Similar unexpected discoveries have made headlines in recent years: a 2024 Northern California find of rare coins valued at $10 million, a 2023 case in Germany where a man found more than $150,000 in gold bars and coins hidden in his apartment, and a 2022 British couple who uncovered over 260 gold coins beneath their kitchen floor that later sold for nearly $1 million at auction.
What remains unknown: authorities have not identified who originally buried the gold or why, and the circumstances surrounding the deposit remain under local inquiry.