The story begins in 2019, during the restoration of a house purchased in 2012 in Plozevet, Brittany in France. The new owners wanted to combine two buildings and, during construction, three workers discovered a metal box install a wall, filled with gold coins. A few days later, they found a purse hidden above a beam containing even more gold coins.
In total, 239 gold coins were discovered and authenticated by the Regional Service of Preventive Archeology. Minted during the reign of Louis XIII and Louis XIV, the oldest dating from 1638 and the most recent from 1692, the coins come from 19 different cities. Before being centralised in the 1970s, the currency was struck in many workshops throughout France. According to the researchers, who identified several families of owners who lived at the mansion from the 13th to 18th centuries, the coins were their savings.
Among the coins, experts have identified rare editions, such as a Louis d'or à la Croix des Templiers and a double Louis d'or with a long wick 1646 by Louis XIV minted by the Atelier de Dijon. The latter has only been listed in the Droulers book at 120 copies.
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Entrusted to the auction house IVOIRE ANGERS / DELOYS, the Plozevet treasure was presented on 29 September during an event sale for the world of numismatics, which lasted no less than five hours. "The auctions were everywhere, indoors, on the Internet and on the phone," commented auctioneer Florian d'Oysonville in a press release. In total, the 235 pieces presented (four were kept as a souvenir by the owners) achieved €1 million including fees (£850,000), against an initial estimate of €250,000 to €300,000 (£215,000-255,000).
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The Louis d'or at the Croix des Templiers won €56,120 including fees (estimate €8,000), as did Louis XIV's double Louis d'or with a long wick from 1646 (estimate €15,000). A Double Louis with the 1690 shield minted in Paris went up to €18,300 (estimate €2,500), while a Double Louis with the 1690 S shield crowned Troyes was sold for €24,400 (estimate €2,700). The Monnaie de Paris, the government owned mint, also purchased nineteen coins.
Half of the proceeds of the sale will go to the owners, the other will be paid to the three workers who discovered the treasures.
