Latest news with #BeaussantLefèvre
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Reclusive French Collector Hid Nearly $3.48 Million In Rare Gold Coins In The Walls Of His Home
High-end auctions are famous for having rare collectibles, but sometimes the story behind the items up for bid can be as interesting as the item itself. This was the case recently in Paris, where a collection of ultra-rare gold coins was sold for nearly $3.5 million. That part isn't unusual, but the coin's origin story defies belief. They were found hidden in the walls of their former owner's home. Paris-based auction house, Beaussant Lefèvre & Associates, conducted the sale, according to CNN. The more details they provided about the coin's history, the more unbelievable the story became. The coin's original owner was a man named Paul Narce. By all accounts, he was a quiet and unassuming man, and he kept his passion for coin collecting secret from all but a few people in his life. Don't Miss: Named a TIME Best Invention and Backed by 5,000+ Users, Kara's Air-to-Water Pod Cuts Plastic and Costs — Tired of Grid Failures and Charging Deserts? This Startup Has a Solar Fix and $25M+ in Sales — Some of the oldest coins in Narce's collection are from the ancient Kingdom of Macedonia and could date as far back as 323 B.C. Narce also had a complete set of coins from French monarchs, Louis XIV, Louis XV, and Louis XVI. It's the kind of coin collection you would expect to be owned by a wealthy French businessman who travelled the world to find them, but that was not Narce's story. "Narce, who lived a modest life and didn't see a lot of the world, spent all of his money on his collection," coin expert Thierry Parsy in a public statement advertising the sale. He spent much of his life amassing the collection, which Parsy described as "exceptional both in number, with more than 1,000 pieces, as well as the rarities it contains." Parsy also said that many of Narce's coins were several hundred years old. According to Parsy, Narce died without any heirs, and only a few people in his inner circle knew he collected coins, and Parsy told CNN that none of them had any idea where he kept the coins. Complicating matters further, Narce checked into a managed care facility about a year before he died. His coins "could have remained undiscovered forever," said Parsy. Trending: Maximize saving for your retirement and cut down on taxes: If it weren't for the efforts of an enterprising notary in the small Southwestern French village where Narce lived, Narce's collection may have never been found. According to CNN, the notary searched Narce's former home and found the coin collection in a storeroom. Narce had tucked the coins away in between the walls of the storeroom and behind a painting hanging on the wall. It's quite obvious Narce put a very high premium on security and being secretive. CNN also said that old coins weren't the only currency Narce collected. The notary also found a trove of 20-franc gold coins. Narce may have been a private man, but his instincts about collecting gold coins proved to be spot on. Gold prices have been skyrocketing for much of the year. CNN reported that the $3.5 million final hammer price was significantly higher than pre-auction estimates and the current premium on gold could explain the high price. It's too bad Narce didn't get to enjoy the profits his coin collection generated.. Read Next: Invest early in CancerVax's breakthrough tech aiming to disrupt a $231B market. Can you guess how many retire with a $5,000,000 nest egg? . Image: Shutterstock UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Reclusive French Collector Hid Nearly $3.48 Million In Rare Gold Coins In The Walls Of His Home originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CNN
12-06-2025
- Business
- CNN
Huge coin collection found hidden in house's walls sells for nearly $3.5 million
A huge collection of historic gold coins, recovered from the wall of a house in France after their owner passed away, has been sold for millions of euros at auction. Auction house Beaussant Lefèvre and Associates told CNN on Thursday that all of the coins had sold in Paris this week, fetching more than 3 million euros ($3.48 million) in total. The coins were collected by Paul Narce, who lived in a small village in south-west France until his death in 2024, according to Beaussant Lefèvre and Associates. 'Narce, who lived a modest life and didn't see a lot of the world, spent all of his money on his collection,' said coin expert Thierry Parsy in a statement previewing the sale. Over the years, he built up a collection of gold coins 'exceptional both in number, with more than 1,000 pieces, as well as the rarities it contains,' said Parsy. Many of the coins date back centuries, according to Parsy. Among them are ancient coins from the Kingdom of Macedonia, dating to 336-323 BC, as well as almost complete series of coins used during the reigns of French Kings Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI. Narce had no direct descendants and only a few people knew of his hobby. However, no one knew where he kept his collection, which 'could have remained undiscovered forever,' said Parsy, were it not for a notary who set out to find the coins in the house, which had been empty since Narce moved into a care home a year before he died. The notary eventually found the coins in a small space in the wall, hidden behind a painting in a store room. In addition to the carefully labelled collection, the notary also found 10 packages, each containing 172 gold 20 franc coins, equivalent to an ingot of gold. The final sale far exceeded the pre-auction estimate of 2 million euros ($2.43 million).
