Old safe given up for scrap found to be filled with $2.5MILLION in gold and silver coins

The safe had belonged to a coin collector who recently died

His family gave it to a man for scrap and he took it to a locksmith for opening

After 20 hours of work, an estimated $2.5million in coins was found

The bounty has been returned to the family of the man that originally owned the safe and the coins

An old concrete-lined safe given up for scrap in Houston, Texas, after the owner died has yielded a treasure trove of gold coins and silver dollars estimated to be worth 2.5 million.



Relatives of the late owner, a coin collector whose name hadn't been released, gave the safe to an individual but asked for any valuables found inside to be returned to them.



The man, who was planning to sell the safe for scrap, was curious to find out what was inside and so took it along to Robbie's Key & Lock Shop to have it opened.



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An old concrete-lined safe given up for scrap in Houston, Texas, after the owner died has yielded a treasure trove of gold coins and silver dollars estimated to be worth 2.5 million

Locksmith owner Robert Rivera said that he was surprised to see boxes of what looked like genuine gold coins inside the safe

The safe was finally opened by David Molick. ‘It was real difficult to get into. It was pretty beat up. Looked like somebody had tried forcing their way into it since the front was beat up,’ he told ABC News.



Molick estimates that he spent more than 20 hours trying to open the safe over the course of a week. Finally, after drilling 10 holes through six-inch walls of concrete, he cracked it.

‘There were 50 Krugerrands in one pipe, and brand new, un-circulated silver dollars in ammo boxes. All of them were well over half full. The entire safe must've weighed at least 3,000 pounds,’ said Molick, who estimates that the contents could be worth $2.5 million.



Once it was open, locksmith owner Robert Rivera told KTRK-TV that he was surprised to see boxes of what looked like genuine gold coins.



The safe was found to have included 50 Krugerrands in one pipe, and brand new, un-circulated silver dollars in ammo boxes David Molick estimates that he spent more than 20 hours trying to open the safe over the course of a week and finally succeeded after drilling 10 holes through the six-inch walls of concrete

‘We thought it was fake, that it couldn't be real gold,’ said Rivera, who contacted police about the find.



Police officers took temporary custody of the coins earlier this week until the family of the dead man and the man who had been given the safe reached an undisclosed agreement on Tuesday.



Mike DeGuerin, an attorney for the family of the deceased, told KTRK that the coins were returned to the family.



He said the family's father had been saving them for decades, but had died recently. Someone who was helping his family clear out the garage was given the safe to sell as scrap, but was supposed to return anything inside of value once he figured out a way to get it open.



'The two parties involved worked out their differences, and the coins were released to the individuals involved yesterday afternoon,' said DeGuerin.

