Kobe Philips never imagined this when he started his summer job. While renovating the building of aid organization CAW, the 18-year-old student discovered a box containing no fewer than 49 gold bars and several thousand gold coins. Word of the find soon spread far beyond Philips' hometown of Dendermonde, Belgium. For now, the question of what to do with the find, currently worth more than €9 million, doesn't arise: the treasure is now in the custody of Belgian police, who are searching for its owner.
2031 could be a lucky year for the honest finder
The gold is not considered a historically significant find that would automatically become state property, for example to be displayed in a museum. Belgian law therefore applies a rule quite similar to the one used in Germany: if the owner cannot be identified, the gold treasure passes in equal shares to the finder and the landowner after five years. So the aid organization and Kobe Philips may have reason to hope.
A brewing family, criminals, or a voice from the beyond?
According to Dendermonde's mayor, the gold treasure likely dates back to the period after the Second World War. A wealthy brewing family may have walled it in at the time. Belgian police are also investigating possible links to criminals who may have wanted to hide their loot. And naturally, numerous private individuals have laid claim to the find — some with rather bizarre explanations. The strangest is probably that of a man who suddenly remembered "hiding gold in a past life."