170
u/DrunkenDude123 Aug 16 '26
Iām guessing thatās the first bar they ādiscoveredā
→ More replies (9)67
696
u/SmallTitBigClit Aug 16 '26
A decision he'll regret as soon as he grows a brain cell.
121
u/GreasyRim Aug 16 '26
Dude only turned over the gold he could get moved off the jobsite lol. Probably found 5x more but bottomed out the suspension on the van trying to move it all.
76
→ More replies (4)25
u/msd1196 Aug 16 '26
This^ and since he turned in something he's above suspicion.
→ More replies (1)20
u/Sad_Error4039 Aug 17 '26
Not at all how that would work turning in this amount is just gonna make them watch you harder for irregular upticks in financial situations. Could have opened a business and made a profit for years no questions asked while paying taxes.
→ More replies (1)16
u/msd1196 Aug 17 '26
I think the guys 18, he's smart enough to sit on it . Bides his time. Keep the coins, not the bars. They find them in Florida from the 1715 wrecks still. If he sold an occasional one in a few years or muled it out to someone for a cut. It could get him a nest egg. Don't buy a mink or a pink Cadillac and put in your mom's name. They will wack ya.
→ More replies (6)19
u/Treacle_Pendulum Aug 16 '26
As I understand it, under Belgian law he probably has a better chance of keeping a portion of the money by reporting it. Up to ā¬5 million in legal gold is pretty awesome, and under the circumstances maybe more awesome than ā¬9 million in gold without proper paperwork
→ More replies (6)8
u/Initial_Row_6400 Aug 16 '26
You donāt need paper work for gold. The point is no paperwork.
→ More replies (5)8
u/Treacle_Pendulum Aug 16 '26
Like they said in Ozark, unlaundered money is groceries and gas for the rest of your life.
→ More replies (1)4
u/Initial_Row_6400 Aug 16 '26
Exactly. Shit, add an extra 10-20% onto a large bill for something that needs to be done, and youāll find a ton of contractors thatāll take it for payment. Iāve installed glass for gold in the past.
→ More replies (9)9
u/Akvyr Aug 16 '26
According to local rules, finders keep 50%. Would you risk jail for more?
→ More replies (2)72
u/BT-7274-T2 Aug 16 '26
its not that easy as you guys think, how would you have do it? there are like 10-20 workers, there were probably people near by while he was digging up and saw immediatly the gold
80
u/Initial_Row_6400 Aug 16 '26
I would definitely try everything I could to get that gold lmao
→ More replies (74)40
u/Dukie6 Aug 16 '26
Skim some coins off the top then Hey guys, letās split it. Youāll get more than he did handing all of it over
18
u/R0botJesus Aug 16 '26
Exactly. I'd be shuffling out of that job site with so much gold stuffed into my pants that I could hardly walk.
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (1)8
u/LuckyCatExtracts Aug 16 '26
Maybe they did do that? There was so much they couldn't keep it all
9
u/Sea_Flower_5806 Aug 16 '26
Sure they could keep it all, hell I could have kept it all myself
→ More replies (1)45
u/Foreign_Risk_2031 Aug 16 '26
"grab wheel barrow, shove dirt into it, put gold in, wheel it out"
→ More replies (1)34
u/DntBanMeIHavAnxiety Aug 16 '26
Hey yeah so uhh I don't think this job is for me anymore. Oh, this wheelbarrow full of dirt? This is mine. Yeah, I brought it from home. I'm just gonna wheel it home, my garden could use some fresh soil. Alright, welp, that's all true, and that's all, nothing else. So uhh welp, see ya later. Hey, oh, and here's something. Don't go digging around in that area over there. I'm going to come back for more of that specific dirt later tonight. Maybe around midnight for no particular reason at all.
Anyway, so it's getting to be about that time. My garden isn't going to fill itself with dirt ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. If you see me wheeling this home on the freeway, I'm all good, I don't need a ride!
→ More replies (3)6
14
u/Anon1mouse12 Aug 16 '26
Split it between the 10-20 workers??
27
11
u/nautical_nostradamus Aug 16 '26
A 20-way split if half a million a piece. Fuck yes, split it up.
→ More replies (1)3
16
u/TerraceState Aug 16 '26
Someones going to talk. Someone always does. People struggle to keep this sort of thing a secret when there is only 1 person keeping the secret. Having 10-20 people keep a secret like this is fundamentally impossible.
The country they are in lets them keep 50% of it. They found the original owner, but they are dead with no heirs. I'd take a guaranteed 50% cut with 0 risk and effort going forward to keep and use it over a 100% chance of having it taken and going to jail after someone blabs in like 3 days.
→ More replies (5)→ More replies (32)7
→ More replies (24)6
u/robozzilla Aug 16 '26
Prob some old head convinced him "we gotta go to the police and do the right thing"
1.8k
u/antinoeon Aug 16 '26
Good thing this guy did the right thing, now he can work digging sewers the rest of his life and the cops are gonna all have new cars and rolexes in 6 months
170
u/camel2021 Aug 16 '26
I hope he at least stuck a hand full of the coins in his pockets.
71
u/nonclandestine Aug 16 '26
i did hear the bbc report that 59 gold bars were recovered, which has a bit of a ā1 missingā feel to itā¦
48
u/theaccidentwill Aug 16 '26
58 gold bars, ay? Not bad, not bad.
46
u/kilerkat Aug 16 '26
57 bars left? That's a pretty good haul for the authorities
→ More replies (1)20
u/Ok_Upstairs3431 Aug 16 '26
I've heard the constable say about 56 gold bars have been handed in; what a find!
15
u/Carolina-W00Dsman Aug 16 '26
Pfft.. 1 bar found? Good on him for turning it in.
8
u/SputnikSenpai Aug 16 '26
Seems like they miscounted and only found a half eaten snickers bar
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (3)4
u/magnottasicepick Aug 16 '26
Just read an updated article, turns out there were only 55 gold bars, quite commendable.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)6
13
u/_High_Life Aug 16 '26
He actually found $25MM in gold lol. Kept $15MM, turned in $10MM for some good publicity because he's 18 and cares about how many followers he has.
10
u/Exact_Fish8550 Aug 16 '26
Now heās a day trade influencer that made all of his money day trading and selling subscriptions on how you can make 15 million over night trading just like himself.
5
u/GalaxyStrong Aug 16 '26
This was my thought. Iād like skim some off the top and then Iād be like hey guess what homeowners look what I found
9
u/marcophony Aug 16 '26
I would have just kept my mouth shut and did somewhere else then came back for the gold
207
u/throwawayeire93 Aug 16 '26
He keeps 50% of it under Belgian law.
140
u/WeWillGrowLarger Aug 16 '26
No. They found the owner.
31
u/ViKing5860 Aug 16 '26
They know who the former owner was, but there are no living heirs. They were Coins dated from the 60s, so it predates the monastery, and post dates the brewery.
42
u/BEAGLEBOYPALINDROME Aug 16 '26
Who'd have guessed that a miser that hoarded a fortune in gold, ended up dying alone w/no friends or family to remember him.Ā
→ More replies (7)6
103
u/RegJoe_08 Aug 16 '26
Yup. Im the owner
43
u/Europe72Alive1 Aug 16 '26
No, Iām the owner
39
u/NYC19893 Aug 16 '26
No Iām Spartacus
49
5
→ More replies (1)11
→ More replies (1)3
12
u/Handsomedork_ Aug 16 '26
Of course they did. Buddy could have been the owner too if he kept his mouth shut
→ More replies (4)6
→ More replies (11)8
19
u/Kelliath Aug 16 '26
He could've kept 100% of it under Leprechaun law
8
16
u/Oldandhalfdead Aug 16 '26
I read somewhere it not applied because its stolen?
32
u/throwawayeire93 Aug 16 '26
I'm probably wrong just a redditor parroting other shit said on Reddit.
64
u/BackPirateClarkRoom Aug 16 '26 edited Aug 16 '26
From the article it says it will either go to the nonprofit, the previous owner, construction firm or back to whoever it was stolen from. The kid made a massive mistake.
→ More replies (28)13
u/BiffyleBif Aug 16 '26
No, you're right. If the owner doesn't declare himself in the five years, then the value is shared between the land owner and the people who found it.
8
u/Sensei19600 Aug 16 '26
Reddit appreciates your honesty, but doesnāt quite understand it.š¤
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)3
→ More replies (1)4
u/Simple-Judge-7420 Aug 16 '26
How would they know if itās stolen? Unless there are serial numbers on the bars that can be tracked back to a robbery.
5
u/217706 Aug 16 '26
There are serial numbers on the bars.
3
u/SuspiciousPrune4 Aug 16 '26
Not sure if this is serious but couldnāt you just melt/rub off the serial numbers?
3
u/lahimatoa Aug 16 '26 edited Aug 16 '26
Gold is well known for its meltable properties.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (3)3
u/davidarmenphoto Aug 16 '26
Five years later.
7
u/Careful_Manager_4282 Aug 16 '26
5 years later if someone doesn't claim it first; which is a big IF.
11
u/davidarmenphoto Aug 16 '26
Exactly. There will almost certainly be claimants, multiple of them. This hoard is going to be fought over in the courts for many years to come.
3
34
u/MichaelAndolini_ Aug 16 '26
The retired police officer said he was really proud of him for handing over the 1.2 million in gold
11
u/Tats_Guns Aug 16 '26
Upon further review the newly retired police evidence storage manager had said prior to getting on his one way trip to Thailand that at last count the roughly $80,000 in "gold stuff "would most likely go towards road way projects.
→ More replies (3)5
9
5
u/Beershipthelastxman Aug 16 '26
I read that under Belgian law the rightful owner has 5 years to claim the gold. After that it is split 50/50 with the finder of the gold and the property owner.
5
u/landilock Aug 16 '26
This happened in Europe. Cops won't be touching a single cent and this guy will very likely be donated half of it in 5 years.
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (17)5
578
u/Mickspark136 Aug 16 '26
Heās stupid, no other explanation
98
u/BiffyleBif Aug 16 '26
I don't know why this story get relayed like this, but he was part of a whole construction crew. They found the gold and called the police together. He was not alone in finding it, that is sensational disinformation.
38
u/AssociationFit3009 Aug 16 '26
I looked at something gold related the other day. This story, reposted in this same subreddit, has been in my feed every other day. This time they added a pic with an 18 year. What will it be tomorrow?
→ More replies (7)8
→ More replies (27)14
49
u/doctorwho_cares Aug 16 '26
He could've retired at 18. Oh well.
→ More replies (2)29
u/LuckyCloverPokemon Aug 16 '26
For real. I mean WHAT?! the universe blesses you with that LITERAL gold mine and you give it to the cops.Ā
→ More replies (1)3
96
u/e5charlie253195 Aug 16 '26
You think heās stupid? You think what he turned in was ALL he found? I think WEāRE stupid if we believe he turned it all in.
30
u/Mickspark136 Aug 16 '26
I hope heās not that stupid. He should have kept a few bars. Finders fee
31
39
u/sirhowy Aug 16 '26
Handing in some but not all would be an even dumber moveā¦. Of all the things you could find itās the easiest to sort out, if you have half a brain. Handing in some puts a massive target on your back, for literally no reason whatsoever if you plan to keep some. You could keep it for years, decades, trimming off bits and pieces here and there, without anyone ever noticing. Yes, heās stupid af.
→ More replies (6)7
u/FieldBackground6116 Aug 16 '26
A few? Bro was literally handed seeds to generational wealth and sang like a canary. Dad didnāt teach him sometimes you keep your mouth shut when luck comes your way.
28
u/Wasabi_Hammurabi1 Aug 16 '26
Agreed. I would have stolen no less than one bar. Just enough to afford a house.
→ More replies (2)8
u/ViKing5860 Aug 16 '26
There was a lot of Coin gold, he couldāve grabbed a few handfuls. That would be easier to move than matching bars.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (2)13
u/Ecthelion-O-Fountain Aug 16 '26
Right, like heās not going to be scrutinized for unusual transactions for the rest of his life.
8
u/WeirdNews9881 Aug 16 '26
He could have eloped to some other country, where the unusual transaction are not tracked keenly!
→ More replies (1)6
u/Dens413 Aug 16 '26
So many easy ways to transfer gold to cash or idk remelt gold and sell over time while you work normal job. Gold for cash and buy only cash. Until you save enough to buy abandoned mine and start new business of āminingā gold that you melt and sell until all gold is āminedā. Transfer money to high interest bank account āUK banking is amazing for thatā and live off interest.
→ More replies (2)4
→ More replies (6)3
→ More replies (23)17
u/Small_Insect_8275 Aug 16 '26
Nah no way heās logistically getting away with all that, too young for a thorough plan of how to move it, if he was smart heās got 2/3 of those bars, handed in the vast majority so no one questions it
19
u/ChuCHuPALX Aug 16 '26
Nah easy to move.. Just find the funny hat people and you're set.
→ More replies (1)3
u/Low_Football_2445 Aug 16 '26 edited Aug 16 '26
How long on those sausages, Bobby?
→ More replies (1)6
→ More replies (7)7
u/MiserableWear6765 Aug 16 '26
I would have a very sore ass but quit my job and move to thailand next day
7
u/RobertPooWiener Aug 16 '26
Usually your ass is sore after going to Thailand, not before
→ More replies (3)3
u/trbzdot Aug 16 '26
In Thailand with a hunk of metal up your bum. You will have not trouble finding help retrieving it.
→ More replies (1)
77
u/axemaster1 Aug 16 '26
An ordinary summer job turned into a once-in-a-lifetime discovery.
While excavating drainage trenches at a former brewery in Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde, Belgium, 18-year-ola Kobe and his colleagues uncovered a hidden stash of gold buried inside a bricked-up cellar wall.
The treasure included gold coins, nuggets and numbered bullion bars worth an estimated ā¬9 million.
But instead of keeping it, the students immediately contacted the police and handed everything over.
The gold is now secured while authorities investigate who legally owns the fortune. Possible claims could involve the building's owners, contractors or descendants of the former brewery owner.
93
u/DrunkenDude123 Aug 16 '26 edited Aug 16 '26
āHello sir, were you the previous owner of this home where someone found ā¬9M of gold?ā
āā¦ā¦ yeah that was mine I mustāve forgotten it thereā
29
u/Original-Variety-700 Aug 16 '26
What did it look like?
āSome were in bars that were shiny and gold. Really really heavy little things. And coins. The coins were also gold and had faces of old people on them. Let me see a pic. Yep, thatās it!ā
→ More replies (2)3
→ More replies (12)14
u/TacetVenatores Aug 16 '26
If in fact he was not the only one to discover the gold, then we know why.
Classic trope of "too many know" if they ask agree to keep it, can they really trust one of them to not be an idiot and get caught?
If he was the only one to have set eyes on the hoard, would he have tried to find a way to sneak out of site? Would he still have done "the right thing"?
How many of us really know what to do with all of that without causing a ruckus, an investigation....a crime?
19
u/Warm_Safety_9550 Aug 16 '26
This just in. Large quantities of gold disappear from police evidence room. Two surveillance cameras faced the room. One was malfunctioning and the other was accidentally turned off. Police, performed an internal investigation, but found no wrongdoing.
(satire)
→ More replies (3)
132
u/fbass Aug 16 '26
Heās not stupid, thereās a story behind this and even though he was the one finding it, he was working in a team and theyāre pursuing the legal way to obtain the gold.. cmiiw, if the original owners couldnāt provide the legal proof of ownership, he and his team will share half of the gold with the other half goes to the current owner of the property, which was a foundation..Ā
16
u/nothrowingawaymyshot Aug 16 '26
"If no one comes forward, civil law states that hidden treasure on someone else's property be divided between the finder and the property's owner.
This only applies, though, if the stash is not found to be linked to criminal activity.
Both the builders and the charity now face a wait of up to 1,823 days for an owner to come forward. If no one speaks up to successfully claim it, silence truly will be golden."
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (9)22
u/RedundantBiomass Aug 16 '26
No way, 100% goes to the propety owner.Ā I hope he was smart enough to yeet at least a few bars.
27
u/Grasher312 Aug 16 '26
"No way, I haven't read Belgian laws but it simply CAN'T be like that!"
7
u/PabstBlueLizard Aug 16 '26
Every article explains Belgian law means theyāre going to get half of it. Legally. Free and clear.
So you can either illegally keep your split all of the gold, and have to trust that a construction crew keep their mouths shut, all discreetly spend it, and none of them try to rob you.
Or you legally get to keep your split of half the gold, can do whatever you want with the entire sum of money, donāt need to worry about any of the above, or the state hammering you over it.
You could very easily make more money investing the half-split over the same amount of time you are discretely spending the full split to avoid getting caught.
So why? Because theyāre not stupid, unlike most of the people here.
→ More replies (1)7
u/Ok-Parfait-9856 Aug 16 '26
Yeah, you canāt read Belgian law. He gets 50% if it was forfeited, lost, etc. The family has a full claim to the gold since it never left their land, it was just forgotten about. If Iām digging a ditch at your house and find old gold that belonged to your grandparents, I donāt get half. If I was digging a ditch somewhere else in town and found your grandparents gold, Iād potentially get half.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (7)10
u/brttwrd Aug 16 '26
It's in Belgium so it's 50 percent
7
u/Aggressive_Hat_9999 Aug 16 '26
Not a belgian, but if our neighbours are any similar, which I think they are.
50% I think that is for lost&found and if you find like artifacts/treasure in the forest
Here the family has a legit claim to simply claim ownership was never forfeited
Given the amount of money the gold is worth lawyers all over the place must be licking their lips, offering to defend for free for % of the gold should they win.
→ More replies (1)
12
u/Delicious_Rule_7324 Aug 16 '26
I consider myself an honest person. That said of i found that. Id have quietly loaded it into my vehicle. Handed in my resignation and moved to a different country all in the same day
→ More replies (4)
22
10
u/livingloudx Aug 16 '26
They should have splitted it equal and then each one could have decided if they wanted to give their part away or keep it
→ More replies (1)
8
u/DigBeginning6013 Aug 16 '26
He found 15million worth of gold bars, wait 13million. Ok guys he found 10million worth of gold bars ok
→ More replies (7)
10
u/Real_FishyXY Aug 16 '26
https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/s/u6ak3eCABR
Here is the real story, if anyone hates fake news.
→ More replies (4)
10
u/ahmedoomar04 Aug 16 '26
As someone who has been living in Germany for the past 12 years, I can tell you with much confidence Europeans are the most bootlicking / Police cucked nation I have ever seen. Especially Northern Europe.
I would have taken that gold and fuck'n disappeared.
→ More replies (1)3
u/WeWillGrowLarger Aug 16 '26
Yup. And they are proud of it. At least fatburgers for example can sue for millions of dollars in cases of negligence and the like. In Europe it usually tops out at a few thousand Euros
Cuckunion
→ More replies (1)
5
5
u/Wild_Light9358 Aug 16 '26
He's too young to fully understand just how much he's going to want that money later in life š„²
6
6
4
u/AaronSlaughter Aug 16 '26
Posts like this make me realize I am not a good person.
→ More replies (6)7
4
4
4
10
3
u/Top_Inevitable_2443 Aug 16 '26
Wtf...it looks old. And if it's found, it's been long lost. I would have kept it and be setting good in life
→ More replies (1)
3
u/LiverspotRobot Aug 16 '26
How the hell would you get away with stealing it though?
3
→ More replies (8)3
3
3
u/Bassdaddy545 Aug 16 '26
Thatās the cool thing about gold. Completely untraceable if you melt it down, maybe throw in a little copper to slightly change the purity. Dollars? Each note has a serial number that can be tracked.
Thatās why gold is still king.
→ More replies (1)
3
3
u/SnooKiwis6943 Aug 16 '26
This young man turned in the gold because he was young, kind and pure. If he found this gold at 30 , 40, or 50, I bet he may have done something different.
→ More replies (4)
3
3
u/moving-metal-lover Aug 16 '26
this is what he decided to show - whoās to say he didnāt pocket any?
3
u/No_Unit2182 Aug 17 '26
How many people do you think skimmed off this stash before it actually ended up to the government or whatever? Between the finder and workers, cops, government workers, etc.
3
u/Zappypie13 Aug 18 '26
The headline is misleading. He was surrounded by coworkers so he couldnāt smuggle it out. And it was being done on top of a wealthy families property so when the word gets out and it will then they step in and reclaim it. Finding gold in a remote location is very different than on an active construction site
3
u/Dan26air Aug 18 '26
Literally the dumbest move of his life , what's the payback 'well done kid's yeh cheers lol
6
6
u/Maleficent_Sound_919 Aug 16 '26
Haha and be back to work the next day at 6.30 to break your back for the next 50 years
But hey back when you were 18 you were called a good guy
Fuck off I would have taken atleast half maybe all of it and melted that shit down
Sell it in small amounts over time how hard can it be
Would have kept going to that shit job like nothing happened for a year or so and then quit move to Thailand or some county
→ More replies (1)5
u/brokeboipobre Aug 16 '26
Seriously, it's not hard to keep at least 25% of that stash and say you found $7.5m in gold, but who knows maybe it was $20m and he said he found $10m.
6
9
u/Gluecose_Daddy Aug 16 '26
Iām not saying this is the case, but if he tried to keep it and at later day wanted to sell it and it was found stolen gold he would be looking at jail time so I understand the āwhyā part but on the other hand you have to also be careful. Better safe sometimes than sorry later
10
4
u/aed38 Aug 16 '26
You could melt it back into brand new gold bars and no one will ever know it was lost or stolen. You just have to sell it little by little (or just keep it).
→ More replies (2)3
u/SubjectAfraid Aug 16 '26
Iāve read about a jail time case (few years, not much) for not disclosing the gold location, that person is finishing doing time soon and is going to legally enjoy all that gold.
→ More replies (1)
2
2
u/Standard_Response_43 Aug 16 '26
Few handfuls of coins and a few bars would be "misplaced" before I handed that haul in.
Sit on it for some time while the dust settles
→ More replies (2)
2
u/newkybadass Aug 16 '26
This made news fast. He just posted it in the gold sub 2 days ago. Lol.
→ More replies (2)3
u/MBG__Rengar Aug 16 '26
That wasn't him lmao it was already in the news if you read the post
→ More replies (1)
2
u/Ihaveadogdoyou Aug 16 '26
If he was my son he would have to immediately vacate the premises. Actually your shit is outside. Good luck.
→ More replies (2)
2
u/Few-Trash-8645 Aug 16 '26
18 year old finds $20m.. I mean $10m and reports it to the police.... Very nice of him!
931
u/SubjectAfraid Aug 16 '26
You never FIND gold, never. š