Germany: Amateur archaeologist finds Nazi gold worth €45,000

A German amateur archaeologist has found a collection of Nazi gold believed to be worth around €45,000 (£31,000, $49,000) near the northern town of Lüneburg,.

Florian Bautsch managed to find 10 golden coins using a metal detector in a hollow under a tree, leading to professionals uncovering a further 207.

The hoard is believed to have been buried during the Second World War and are of French, Belgian, Italian and Austro-Hungarian origin, dating from 1831 to 1910.

As well as the coins, two aluminium containers featuring swastika crosses, eagles and the words "Reichsbank Berlin 244" – after the name given to Germany's central bank in the Nazi era – were also found.

Mario Pahlow, a local archaeologist, told Reuters: "This was all found under a pine tree that is around 50 years old... and that must have grown afterwards... so we know it must have been buried in the last days of the war or shortly afterwards."

Archaeologists suggest the coins were buried after they were stolen. Edgar Ring, an archaeologist at Museum Lueneburg, believes the suspect may have worked at the bank.

"It was either someone who worked at the Reichsbank and had access, which means it could have only been someone who was there in an official role, or somebody who took advantage of the situation when the coins were being transported," he added.

"It's hard to work out what these coins were worth back then using today's standards," said Pahlow. "But it's reasonable to assume that you could buy a very good suit, including a waistcoat and top hat, with one of these coins."

The coins were found in October 2014 but have only just been revealed to the public after research was conducted on them. They will now go on display at Museum Lüneburg.