Within the walls of the medieval manor was a treasure trove of millions of gold coins

During the reconstruction of a mansion in the Breton village of Plozévet in north-western France, a hoard of 17th-century gold coins was discovered. The owners of the chateau, Véronique and François Mion, decided to reconstruct and interconnect the two buildings. Three days later, they found more gold coins hidden in a fabric bag on a beam near another wall...

In total there were 239 gold coins, 23 minted under Louis XIII and the remaining 216 under Louis XIV. The coins date from 1638 to 1692. There are also two very rare pieces in the set - the "Louis d'or" with the Templar cross, minted by the Dijon mint and issued by King Louis XIII. in 1640, and a "double Louis d'or" minted in Paris and issued by King Louis XIV in 1646, which depicts him and his typical curl of hair at the age of only eight years. Only 120 of these coins are known to exist; a single example is worth around $15,000 (about 322,000 crowns).

The estate once belonged to a family of wealthy merchants, and its oldest parts date from the 13th century. The last known inhabitants (before the current owners) lived here in the mid-18th century. The area was a very busy commercial crossroads in the 17th century, and the estate was a convenient stop on the way to transport wine from Bordeaux to England and grain to northern Europe. The growing number of ports in Normandy meant a considerable loss to many of these trades and the area suffered a sharp economic decline between 1750 and 1850. Because the coins were minted in 19 different towns, archaeologists believe that they were collected by one person, perhaps a travelling merchant or a local wealthy landowner.
The coins will go up for auction on September 23, with the auction taking place in the city of Angers. Pre-sale estimates for most of the coins range from €600 to €1,200 each. Rare coins with Templar crosses are selling for between €7,000 and €8,000. The total estimated price of all 239 gold coins is between €250,000 and €300,000 - at the current exchange rate of about 6.3 - 7.6 million crowns.

According to the French Treasures Act of 2016, all archaeological materials recovered in the country, including private property, belong to the state. Since the Mions bought the mansion in 2012, the finds stored in the walls are inherited under the previous law. The proceeds of the auction will be split in half for the property owner and the other half will be divided equally among the three stone-finders. The Mions plan to use the proceeds to pay for further challenging renovations to the homestead.

Roman Němec

Louis XIV's Double Louis d'or from 1645

Double Louis d'or of Louis XIV of 1645 reverse

Louis d'or Louis XIII of 1640

Louis d'or Louis XIII of 1640 reverse

Sources: barrons.com, nst.com, thehistoryblog,com, thelocal.fr