An heir to an Italian couple discovered one billion Italian lira in a house in Malta, but they have ended up with nothing because the currency is no longer in use and cannot be converted into euros, Italian media report.

The couple died in 2008 and 2010, and had bought the house in Malta for their vacations. They did not have children, and had bequeathed their Malta home to a distant relative. The woman who inherited the building never set foot in Malta, but in December last year she sent her niece to look at the property.

It was then that the safe containing nearly one billion Italian lira (516,000 euros) was discovered. The money is so far still in Malta, Italian media report.