Working at the town hall in Morez, we imagine, must be a busy yet somewhat uneventful affair: There’s roadworks on the main rue de la République to take care of, planning for the reopening of the Eyewear Museum — and perhaps most stressful, worrying about budget and spending for this village of 4,800 nestled in the peaceful Jura mountains.
So imagine Mayor Laurent Petit’s surprise (and delight) when his staff struck actual gold, not once, but twice in a matter of months … Money “almost heaven-sent,” the mayor told France Bleu radio station: After discovering 500,000 euros worth of gold coins and bars last spring, hidden in jars of jams in a decrepit house the town had purchased for a measly 130,000 euros, a safe was recently found in the very same house, at the back of an old wardrobe.
In the safe: another trove of more than 500 gold coins, estimated to be worth between 100,000 and 150,000 euros, as local paper Voix du Jura reports.
Rumors had circulated about a hidden treasure in the three-story house in the town center, which belonged to a long line of eyewear and clock merchants. But when the last owner died last year in his 90s, the person who inherited the place chose to sell it to the town hall rather than having to deal with generations-worth of “junk.”
As Mayor Petit told France 3 Regions, “the town’s budget is only 6 million euros, so that’ll do us good, for sure.”
