Luneburg: A German amateur archaeologist has found a historic collection of Nazi gold coins believed to be worth around 45,000 euros, which was likely buried around the time of World War II.
Florian Bautsch found the 217 gold coins in Luneburg, Germany in October 2014. Bausch was exploring old burial mounds when he stumbled across the first gold coin.
A further search under the foliage uncovered nine more coins, after which Bautsch got in touch with local archaeologists. A two-week long excavation unearthed 207 more gold coins, with the worth of the total collection estimated at around 45,000 euros, ‘The Local’ reported.
128 of the coins bore Belgian stamps, while 74 originated in France and 12 from Italy. The coins have a diameter of 21mm and weigh 6.45 grammes, with an overall weight of 1.4kg.
Most of the coins were minted between 1850 and 1910, with the oldest dating back to 1831. According to Luneburg archaeologist Edgar Ring, the gold had belonged to the Nazi-era Reichsbank (central bank) and was a collection of stolen coins.
The coins were likely packaged sometime between 1940 and 1950, he said. Despite the value of the coins estimated at 45,000 euros, Bautsch will only receive 2,500 euros as finder’s reward.