A military enthusiast bought a tank on eBay recently and discovered $2.5 million of gold bars hidden inside in one of the most unexpected and intriguing places where gold has been found.
Nick Mead discovered the five gold bars stashed inside the diesel tank of the ex-Iraqi Army Type 69, a Chinese copy of the Soviet T-55, back in 2017.
It’s believed the bullion was looted by plundering Iraqi soldiers during the 1990 invasion of Kuwait but forgotten about inside the 36.7-ton tank.
Man regrets handing in the gold found in the tank from eBay
Stunned by the discovery, Mead handed the gold to the authorities. Now, seven years later, he has admitted he wished he had kept the hidden booty.
The 62-year-old, who runs Tanks-a-Lot on his farm in England, told the Daily Mail: “I regret handing it in. I should have at least got a finders’ fee for it but I got absolutely nothing.”
“When we found the gold bars we didn’t know what to do with them. It’s not like you can take five gold bars down to the pawn shop. So we called the police.
“Gold has a fingerprint. They know where it’s been mined. It was definitely stolen from Kuwait. At the time there were all these wonderful conspiracy theories claiming we had kept it. But I haven’t got any money for it, sadly.”
Mead told the Daily Mail he isn’t sure what has happened to the gold and believed the authorities were still trying to track down the bullion’s owners.
The exact history of the tank is unknown but an inspection revealed it is a Chinese copy of the Russian T-55 design and manufactured under the designation Type 69.
It was built in the early 1980s and has just 1,507 miles on the clock. The vehicle was first bought by a self-taught mechanic, who has been restoring military vehicles for seven years, and resold on eBay.
Unexpected places where gold bars have been found
Throughout history, gold bars have been discovered in some unexpected and intriguing places, adding to the allure and mystique of this precious metal.
In 2012, a plumber in the Netherlands stumbled upon a trove of gold bars while working on a toilet in a private home. The toilet had been installed in the 1980s, and the homeowner did not know the hidden treasure.
The plumber’s find consisted of 19 gold bars, weighing a total of approximately 10 kilograms (22 pounds) and valued at over $1 million.
In 2015, a man working at a recycling plant in Canada made an astonishing discovery while sorting through discarded items. He unearthed a metal box containing 18 gold bars, weighing approximately 16 kilograms (35 pounds) and worth over $1.8 million.
The bars had been concealed inside the box for decades, hidden from plain sight among ordinary household waste.
Most recently a couple from the United Kingdom discovered an unexpected cache of rare gold coins while renovating their home.
The couple found an unusual cup under the kitchen floor, hidden between old floorboards. Initially thought to be a trivial find, it turned out to be a pot of unimaginable value.
The hoard consisted of about 260 gold coins dating from 1610 to 1727, with an estimated value of more than $800,000.
Related: 4,000 Ounces of Gold Remain Unclaimed 150 Years After Ship Sinking
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