A Polish plumber may have become a millionaire overnight after discovering valuable treasure on the job.
While renovating the basement of a villa in Vienna, the workman discovered a chest containing 30 kilograms of gold coins bearing Mozart’s image.
The man had reportedly noticed something sticking out of the concrete in one of the basement cellars and after further investigation realized it was a hidden chest, according to Poland’s Business Insider. The Austrian portal Heute valued the gold coins inside at some €2.3 million.
Reports claim its owners most likely hid the chest during World War II when many of Vienna’s wealthy were forced to hide their possessions.
As to the future of the treasure, such an accidental archaeological find must be reported to the appropriate services, which then inform the Federal Office for the Protection of Monuments. While Austrian law dictates that the value of a find be divided equally between the finder and the landowner, this office will make the final decision.
As to the plumber, who has worked on construction sites since he was 15, he said he was in shock.
“Something like this is truly unbelievable. Every now and then you find a few coins, but a discovery like this is amazing,” he said in an interview cited by The Sun newspaper.
