Many 18 year olds are weighing a financial future that includes student loan debt, uncertainty over owning their own home, and a long-term concern over retirement.
But for one teenage student, a chance find could put them on the path to financial security after a routine construction job in uncovered a fortune in gold worth an estimated $10 million.
Workers drilling for a new sewage system struck a buried hoard beneath a former brewery, at a site being redeveloped to provide housing and offices by a social welfare organization in Belgium.
The eight-person construction team was laying the pipes when a drill became stuck in a gold bar. Among the workers was 18-year-old student Kobe, who was working a summer job and initially believed the objects being uncovered were ordinary coins.
“We suddenly saw something lying there,” 18-year-old Kobe told the Belgian news network VTM. “At first I thought it was €1 coins. So we started digging them up. Then we saw a gold bar. It turned out to be a bit more than we thought.”
The stash was found beneath a villa built in the late 19th century for brewery owner Theophilus Van Assche. It included gold coins, nuggets and numbered bullion bars, reportedly hidden inside a bag in a bricked-in section of the cellar.
The brewery began operating at the site in 1899 and continued until 1970. The property is now undergoing a major renovation, with only its walls expected to remain.
The workers immediately contacted police rather than attempting to keep the find and the gold has since been transferred to a secure facility in Brussels while authorities investigate who legally owns it.
Potential claimants include the construction company, the social venture, and descendants of the Van Assche family. Authorities must also establish that the bullion was not stolen or connected to criminal activity.
Belgian law requires potential owners to be given at least five years to claim treasure before the finders can potentially take ownership.
Meanwhile, the former brewery site has attracted unwanted attention from people hoping to uncover more treasure. Police have warned would-be prospectors to stay away, saying the property has been largely demolished and contains dangerous pits.
The gold may have disappeared into a secure vault, but the question of who ultimately gets to keep it is only just beginning.
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