Frenchman given gold after returning parcel worth €20k

The man, known as Julien C., was at home in the Breton town of Vannes when a small parcel was delivered normally. He signed for it without checking the contents, believing it to contain a swimming costume for his wife.

It was only later that Mr C discovered the package was actually full of coins and ingots, made of real gold, weighing 20-50 grams each, and dating from around 1900.

Talking to local newspaper Ouest-France, he said: “I didn’t pay too much attention to the parcel that I signed for, because I was waiting for a swimming costume for my wife. But the total cost of the parcel was actually up to €20,000!”

Upon discovering the error, the man sought out the real owner of the parcel, whose address was found on the packaging. But when Mr C arrived at the address, no-one was home.

In a last-ditch attempt, Mr C took the parcel to the police station in Vannes. The real owner was eventually found, and the parcel returned to them. They are thought to be a collector of historical gold.

Mr C said: “The police officers congratulated me for taking it to them, and took photos.”

This week it was confirmed that national gold broker Le Comptoir National de l’Or plans to send Mr C a gold ingot of an unspecified size, to say thank you for his honesty in returning the original package.

According to reports, however, Mr C’s wife is still waiting for her original swimming costume to be delivered.