A friend found this in his garden

[matrawr]

44 minutes ago, Curious1 said:

It was found on the Belgian/Netherlands border 

@StackSellRepeat maybe they took a trip?

[StackSellRepeat]

1 minute ago, matrawr said:

@StackSellRepeat maybe they took a trip?

I hear love lights the sky up in Amsterdam, so Yup would be a very good trip 😉

[mr-dead]

Pretty looking bar.

 

Looks like the real thing to me, just looks "right"

[Curious1]

3 minutes ago, matrawr said:

@StackSellRepeat maybe they took a trip?

No he actually lives a couple hundred meters from the Dutch border. He dug it up in his own garden. PC Boschmans seems to be from Wijnegem and the previous owner originated from there. My guess is he buried it, he thinks it ended up there during some kind of demolition. Anyway, he mailed PC Boschmans to find out when it was minted. Exciting stuff!!!

[StackSellRepeat]

1 minute ago, Curious1 said:

No he actually lives a couple hundred meters from the Dutch border. He dug it up in his own garden. PC Boschmans seems to be from Wijnegem and the previous owner originated from there. My guess is he buried it, he thinks it ended up there during some kind of demolition. Anyway, he mailed PC Boschmans to find out when it was minted. Exciting stuff!!!

The previous owner burried it, guess he didn’t trust the wife 😂 please do keep us posted this is some hot stuff, something your probably hear on the news not experience on the forum 👍 wish you guys good luck 

[matrawr]

Whatever happens do keep us posted!

[Curious1]

I'll post and translate the email when PC Boschmans gets back to us! Thanks for the help and the enthusiasm everyone!

[StackSellRepeat]

Just now, Curious1 said:

I'll post and translate the email when PC Boschmans gets back to us! Thanks for the help and the enthusiasm everyone!

Your very welcome  I just hope this isn’t an hoax, as I wouldn't be able to look at a waffle the same way again 😜

[Curious1]

15 minutes ago, StackSellRepeat said:

Your very welcome  I just hope this isn’t an hoax, as I wouldn't be able to look at a waffle the same way again 😜

I'm not messing with you lol, his wife still can't believe it's real until she hears it from a professional, even after seeing the pics with the stamps posted in this topic. This whole thing is very surreal. 

After the information I got here, I'm convinced. Plus fake bars look a lot cleaner, they don't try to replicate old bars and they would put 999 on it instead of 993. 

[Cornishfarmer]

Don’t know much about history, any chance could have been buried in the war? Is that why don’t want to take to pawn shop?     What happens if it’s German loot?

[StackSellRepeat]

25 minutes ago, Cornishfarmer said:

Don’t know much about history, any chance could have been buried in the war? Is that why don’t want to take to pawn shop?     What happens if it’s German loot?

I don’t believe it’s that old mate, maybe 60-80’s 

[AuricGoldfinger]

I still can’t get over it lol

[Curious1]

2 hours ago, Cornishfarmer said:

Don’t know much about history, any chance could have been buried in the war? Is that why don’t want to take to pawn shop?     What happens if it’s German loot?

The possibility of German loot crossed my mind yes. If it was stolen in the past and there’s proof like a police report with the serial number, he might have to give it back.

PC Boschmans did get back to us:

Dear,

this could be ours if it’s not a copy. It would be from the1946-1954 period, because after that we changed our stamp. Please note this is not fine gold as we know today.

You can get in touch if you want to pay us a visit. The address in Antwerp is no longer active so please give me a call first to make an appointment.

Best regards,

Johan Boschmans

[StackSellRepeat]

2 hours ago, StackSellRepeat said:

I don’t believe it’s that old mate, maybe 60-80’s 

I was wrong regarding the date, This is definitely a vintage high premium collectable bar  (Should also attract WW collectors).

[StackSellRepeat]

17 minutes ago, Curious1 said:

The possibility of German loot crossed my mind yes. If it was stolen in the past and there’s proof like a police report with the serial number, he might have to give it back.

PC Boschmans did get back to us:

Dear,

this could be ours if it’s not a copy. It would be from the1946-1954 period, because after that we changed our stamp. Please note this is not fine gold as we know today.

You can get in touch if you want to pay us a visit. The address in Antwerp is no longer active so please give me a call first to make an appointment.

Best regards,

Johan Boschmans

This is getting better & better 👍🤩

[Curious1]

Just now, StackSellRepeat said:

I was wrong regarding the date, This is definitely a vintage high premium collectable bar  (Should also attract WW collectors).

His wife took it to a jewellers store and they said it was worth €18300 and wanted to buy it immediately 😄

I think an auction would be the safest way to get the best price for it. We have some who specialize in luxury collectibles like this. 

[matrawr]

Holy hellcats!....I've always wondered if gold and silver that old had survived this long!

1 hour ago, Curious1 said:

His wife took it to a jewellers store and they said it was worth €18300 and wanted to buy it immediately 😄

I think an auction would be the safest way to get the best price for it. We have some who specialize in luxury collectibles like this. 

Take it to an auction house with an online presence......more scope more buyers 👍

[Curious1]

He just asked PC Boschmans if he could get more for it at an auction and they replied:

Your jewellers store didnt inform you correctly, 24K gold should have a 999.9 stamp, not 993 so this one is not 24K, which is not abnormal due to its age. If you were to sell it at an auction, you would receive a converted old gold price. Banks would not even take it because it’s 993. An official bar for resale these days (Lingot) is always 999.9.

It’s still an amazing find and the purchase value is about 17000 euros. We can exchange this for you if you want to keep it as an investment. Cost for this is 250€ for purification and you also need to purchase 5 grams of gold to get to 500 grams (185€).

Like I said before, you are welcome.

Best Regards,

Johan Boschmans

———————

Looks to me like Johan is a true capitalist and trying to get this bar for a nice price 😁 I don’t believe he would actually melt and refine it, he would probably give my friend a recent 500g bar and make some money doing so and then continue to sell the vintage bar at a nice markup.

Their website states loud and clear that they don’t deal with individuals, but they seem very eager to meet my friend 🙂

[Peacemaker]

1 minute ago, Curious1 said:

He just asked PC Boschmans if he could get more for it at an auction and they replied:

Your jewellers store didnt inform you correctly, 24K gold should have a 999.9 stamp, not 993 so this one is not 24K, which is not abnormal due to its age. If you were to sell it at an auction, you would receive a converted old gold price. Banks would not even take it because it’s 993. An official bar for resale these days (Lingot) is always 999.9.

It’s still an amazing find and the purchase value is about 17000 euros. We can exchange this for you if you want to keep it as an investment. Cost for this is 250€ for purification and you also need to purchase 5 grams of gold to get to 500 grams (185€).

Like I said before, you are welcome.

Best Regards,

Johan Boschmans

———————

Looks to me like Johan is a true capitalist and trying to get this bar for a nice price 😁 I don’t believe he would actually melt and refine it, he would probably give my friend a recent 500g bar and make some money doing so and then continue to sell the vintage bar at a nice markup.

yeh that makes no sense at all, the purity and the old stamp is probably the only proof you have it is 70 years old, try heritage auctions

[Curious1]

I assume PCB is the only one who can check records to see when it was minted? Or is there another way to get that information? 

[Peacemaker]

47 minutes ago, Curious1 said:

I assume PCB is the only one who can check records to see when it was minted? Or is there another way to get that information? 

you said they told you they stopped using that particular logo in the 50's didnt you? you may never get the exact year and they may be a little less helpful in painting the picture of its history for your sales pitch now they are interested in having it

[Curious1]

6 minutes ago, DaveWheat89 said:

you said they told you they stopped using that particular logo in the 50's didnt you? you may never get the exact year and they may be a little less helpful in painting the picture of its history for your sales pitch now they are interested in having it

I share your opinion. He doesn’t seem very willing to give a lot of details about it, except they changed stamps in ‘54. I contacted catawiki about it, they auctioned some recent silver bars from the same company at a nice premium so I’m excited to get an answer from them.

What do you think is a fair price for this bar? I found a website with 50 gram vintage gold bars from PCB and they all sold out for 52€/gram. But small bars are more expensive per gram, am I right? 

[Peacemaker]

8 minutes ago, Curious1 said:

I share your opinion. He doesn’t seem very willing to give a lot of details about it, except they changed stamps in ‘54. I contacted catawiki about it, they auctioned some recent silver bars from the same company at a nice premium so I’m excited to get an answer from them.

What do you think is a fair price for this bar? I found a website with 50 gram vintage gold bars from PCB and they all sold out for 52€/gram. But small bars are more expensive per gram, am I right? 

Its hard to call, but the overall answer is, its worth what someone is willing to pay, all depends on the audience, If you can find and paint the picture of its history, that may play a big part in its sale price, pictures of the exact location it was recovered, along with a map/gps view, probably shouldnt have cleaned it but it should be ok

[gkoogk]

 i would hire a kubota for the day especially as you have decided to re turf whole garden lol

[Curious1]

9 minutes ago, gkoogk said:

 i would hire a kubota for the day especially as you have decided to re turf whole garden lol

They’ve been calling and getting prices for that kind of machinery all day long. By the end of the week that whole garden will be turned upside down 😆 They both have gold fever madness right now.

He promised me some pics of his ‘garden’ to share with this forum.