Another man's trash is another man's treasure. But in this case, it appears to be the reverse. A man accidentally tossed out 20 gold bars worth more than $140,000. He quite literally trashed the valuable gold in the garbage.
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On February 12, police in Italy confirmed the strange incident. The 57-year-old took out the trash, not realizing that his collection of gold was inside. The gold bars were worth around 120,000 euros ($142,000). According to Reuters, he understandably freaked out upon realizing his mistake.
The man didn't realize he had tossed out his treasure until the next day, however. He then contacted the police in Carabinieri to help him with his very costly mistake. They promptly reviewed the security footage, confirming the report.
Gold Bars in the Trash
Reportedly, the 57-year-old Italian man had collected gold bars over a number of years. He kept his precious gold in a tin box. Somehow, that accidentally ended up in the trash in Torre Lapillo. The man placed the gold bars in a public bin outside a beach resort.
From there, authorities managed to track down the trash to a nearby local landfill. Thankfully, this story has a happy ending. Police actually went dumpster diving at the landfill and managed to find the gold and return it to the man.
"After several hours of careful sifting, the officers managed to find the box which, though damaged, still contained all the gold bars ... which were then returned to their rightful owner," the police said in a statement, per Reuters.
Still, it makes me wonder what other treasures are lost in the trash. Take this story from Dubai. A woman accidentally threw out old worth around $13,000. It was the four 22K gold coins and a 50-gram 24K gold bar. Similarly, the gold was tracked down and returned to the original owner.
Be more careful with your gold bars.
