The treasure belonged to Paul Narce, a resident of a small village in south-west France, who passed away in 2024.

The auction house, Beaussant Lefèvre and Associates, confirmed that the entire collection of over 1,000 coins was sold this week, significantly exceeding the pre-auction estimate of €2 million (c. £1.7m).

Mr Narce, who lived a modest life, secretly dedicated his savings to amassing an exceptional collection of gold coins. According to coin expert Thierry Parsy, the collection is noteworthy for both its size and the rarity of its contents. It includes ancient coins from the Kingdom of Macedonia, dating back to 336-323 BC, and almost complete sets from the reigns of French Kings Louis XIV, Louis XV, and Louis XVI, CNN reports.

Having no direct descendants and with his hobby known to only a few, the location of Mr Narce’s collection remained a mystery after he moved into a care home a year before his death. The hoard could have been lost forever had a notary not undertaken a determined search of the now-empty house. The coins were eventually found in a small cavity in a storeroom wall, concealed behind a painting.

Alongside the meticulously labelled coins, the notary also discovered ten packages, each containing 172 gold 20-franc coins, collectively equivalent to a gold ingot.