Nick Mead got a real bargain on eBay.

When Nick Mead purchased an ex - military tank car on eBay , he probably thought he was getting a enough deal .

lilliputian did he sleep together , there were five amber bar deserving $ 2.4 million hidden in the fuel tank .

Mead , a cooler gatherer from the United Kingdom , owns a society that provides tankful and panoplied vehicles for driving classes , television and movie props and , at times , larger-than-life parties .

Tank Gold

He add up to own the tank in inquiry — an ex - Iraki Army Type 69 — by trading an Abbot ego - move mortar and a British Army truck , value together at $ 37,000 , with the eBay vender .

When Mead and his auto-mechanic constitute machine heavy weapon ammunition in the vehicle , they thought the accompanying piece might be hidden in the fuel tank .

Not want to arouse police suspicion with an Iraki gun collection , they decided to film the rest period of their initial review .

Type 69 Iraqi Tank

Wikimedia CommonsA Type 69-IIA Iraqi tank captured during the Gulf War.

But there were no guns in the fuel storage tank . alternatively , they pulled out the gold bars , count about 12 pounds each :

The treasure , which they right away handed over to authorities , is likely from Kuwait . Iraqi forces despoil the country after their 1990 invasion and after return 3,216 atomic number 79 barroom under UN supervision .

Wikimedia CommonsA Type 69 - IIA Iraqi cooler captured during the Gulf War .

The armoured combat vehicle itself is a intermediate - sized vehicle with a 100 - millimeter main gun and a 12.7 - mm machine gun . design in 1949 , the model is fairly outdated but still used in many U. S. Army in develop land .

Though most media outlets have reported the value at $ 2.4 million , Popular Mechanicssuspects that number might be off . Their reporter forecast the gold is believably only deserving $ 1.2 million .

Moral of the story ? Always check the fuel armoured combat vehicle before you sell your tank .

Next , scan aboutwhen ISIS incidentally uncovered an ancient Assyrian palace and then looted it . Then , chequer out the220 - dog pound gold coin of late steal from a Berlin Museum .