LOST IN A BANK

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 June 1930, Page 8

LOST IN A BANK

LITTLE FORTUNE FORGOTTEN

It seems incredible that in these days a bequest to a nation amounting to £12,500 should have been forgotten, and onlj r ' discovered by an accident.

This little piece of news comes from the great Chilean Republic. The process of liquidating an old Spanish bank led to the discovery of two strong boxes which had reposed in the vaults of the building for over 30 years. These have been brought to light by the Director-General of Libraries and Museums.

The boxes and their contents have now been handed to the State for iho National Museum. On examinaiion of the boxes it has been found that (he collection numbered about 5000 Examples of the moneys of the world. This hoard represents a private collection made by an ex-Ministe-r of War and Mayor of Valparaiso, Senor don Francisco Echaurren, who left it in his will to the National Museum. How the case containing the collection camo to be lost does not appear. The archives of the bank throw no light on the matter. When it was discovered the keys 1 failed to open the outer receptacle, which had to be forced. The wooden inner case was in good condition, and its valuable contents are in a perfect state. Some of the coins are of considerable value, owing to their rarity, and they will certainly not have depreciated in value during the 30 years in which they have reposed in the vaults of the bank.