gold bars
Mayukh Saha
Mayukh Saha
December 2, 2023 ·  3 min read

Collector Once Found $2.4 Million in Gold Bars in a Tank he Purchased on eBay

A Premiere Daily Highlight Story: Sometimes there are stories that are just too amazing and note-worthy to keep locked away. That’s why we scour the archives and bring some of them back to experience again. They may surprise you, make you smile, or even shed a tear, but they’re always meant to add a little extra to your day.

A collector of tanks went on to strike gold in 2017. This does sound quite unbelievable- but this actually happened. This collector from the United Kingdom was very surprised after he and his partner opened one of the diesel fuel tanks— it contained $2.4 million worth of gold bars. The tank in question was purchased by Nick Mead. This collector’s company- Tank Alots- provides tanks and other armored vehicles on hire. They are used for private events, driving classes- and also film appearances. Mead came across the tank- which was an ex-Iraqi Army Type 69, after trading an Abbot Howitzer and a British Army truck. 

An example of an Iraqi Type 69 Tank. Image Credit: DOD

Nick Mead and his mechanic, Todd Chamberlain had been shooting a video of them opening up the tank. They had initially found quite a few machine gun ammunition. And now they wanted to document in case they found more. The video does show them pulling out five solid gold bars that each weigh around twelve pounds. Mead went on to deposit the gold with the authorities. And for his efforts- he was issued with a receipt for the bars of bullion. The tank he bought- Type 69- is quite common in the Iraqi army. This particular one was a Chinese copy of the Soviet T-55 medium tank.

Read: Man Finds Safe Containing $7,500,000 Inside Storage Unit He Purchased For $500

Man Purchases Tank- Finds Gold Bullion Inside

The mechanic, Mr. Chamberlain informed The Sun“We didn’t know what to do. You can’t exactly take five gold bullion bars down to Cash Convertors without questions being asked, so we called the police.” Mr. Mead stated, “We know it is definitely an Iraqi tank and our theory is the gold is from Kuwait but we don’t know. When we found it, we were all laughing and joking and decided what we were going to spend the money on. My sister wanted a Land Rover and I would buy a Rolls Royce Phantom and chop the back off to make a pick-up truck.”

The tank was first purchased by a Mr. Hewes- who managed to get it working. “I saw it advertised and I had this idea of doing a ‘From Russia With Love’ experience where people would come and drive three Russian tanks. I always keep an eye on military vehicles on eBay, I check it once every three days. […] It is unusual to get one of these now, they range from around 10,000 pounds to 60,000 pounds. I did well buying it for 30,000 pounds.

One of the gold bars discovered in the tank. Image Credit: YouTube

Mr. Hewes also said that he often buys tanks to try and make them work.

So, what would you have done with the gold? Let us know in the comments!

Keep Reading: Mountain Where Soil Is ‘90% Gold’ Discovered Causing Big Gold Rush

Sources

  1. “SITTING ON A GOLD MINE: Tank collector shocked to find £2million gold bullion hidden in the fuel compartment of his £30,000 vehicle” The Sun. April 10, 2017.
  2. $2.4 Million-Worth Of Gold Bars Found In Tank Purchased On eBay.” All That’s Interesting. Annie Garau. April 12, 2017.
  3. Military buff finds £2million worth of gold bullion hidden inside his £30,000 Iraqi tank.” Daily Mail UK. April 12, 2017.