Gold coins found in the ceiling of a French vineyard’s dorm.
A horde of 497 gold coins goes on view briefly next week in Manhattan, after decades wedged above ceiling joists in France. Last year an unidentified workman renovating a vineyard dorm for grape pickers in Champagne country, east of Paris, found the currency when it tumbled down on him from rough sacks. They are all American $20 coins, in barely used condition, with dates between 1851 and 1928.
Bonhams will auction them as separate lots in June in Los Angeles, and it is now taking them on tour for previews, with a Manhattan stop from April 13 through 15. The lots are expected to bring a total of up to $1 million, and the workman will split the proceeds with the property owners, the Lanson-BCC group.
No one knows who stashed them overhead.
Theories have been floated that the hoarder was hiding them from creditors, tax authorities and heirs. But someone merely concealing wealth would perhaps not have focused on one kind of coin, with barely scratched surfaces and a wide span of dates.
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