http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2016/02/04/german-teen-gets-to-keep-gold-bar.html Same story from the BBC with a more relevant photo: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35496901 "17.6-ounces". Once again, journalists who can't distinguish Troy ounces from Avoirdupois ounces. At current spot of CA$1588.22 per Troy Ounce , which is CA$51.06/gram, spot value would be ~CA$25,527. 1CAD=1.011AUD=0.7279USD as I write this.
Hmm, serial number filed off, no claimant, there's a tale there for sure. Just hope the young girl doesn't disappear next!
I don't like to spin tall tales, but the last people who handled this particular bar may have worn wearing black jackboots and been outfitted by Hugo Boss. Yes, thats who I'm implying. Obviously, I don't have definitive evidence. The bar bears the refiner markings of Degussa, who have been in refining business since 1843 and accredited by the LBMA since 1930. Degussa, an acronym of Deutsche Gold- und Silber-Scheide-Anstalt ('German Gold and Silver Separating Works'), was known to be one of the few German precious metals refineries that operating in Germany during most of the Second World War. Degussa's parent company even acknowledge this. (http://history.evonik.com/sites/ges...-companies/degussa/pages/default.aspx#faq_1_6) By 1944, even the fanatical supporters of the Third Reich could see the writing on the wall. Senior members of the National Socialist government planned for a national redoubt, an alpine fortress (Alpenfestung) in the mountains of Bavaria. (Exactly the region where this particular bar was found.) The envisioned using irregular/insurgent tactics to wear down the occupation and pave the way for a 'restoration' of NASDAP rule. We know for certain there was an organized effort to conceal large caches of gold bars, the treasure trove at the Merkers mine being the most well-known example. (http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1999/spring/nazi-gold-merkers-mine-treasure.html) When the US Sixth Army invaded, there were few fortifications and minimal organized military resistance. Post-war, the Alpenfestung was dismissed as mere propaganda. Still, its possible elements of the plan were carried out, such as concealing caches of gold to fund an insurgency or other post-war political movements. Hence why rumors about a possible gold treasure trove at Lake Toplitz continue to persist.
