Owner of the house says historic money was on exhibit in museum part of his house
Nearly three tons of money were found under the rubble of a collapsed house in Gaziantep province of southeast Turkey.
Esat Kaplan, the owner of the house, said he woke up at midnight when he heard a loud noise and found that a part of his house had collapsed.
Despite its value, most of this money cannot actually be spent; it is antique currency no longer in circulation. Kaplan, a money collector, said that he had been using part of the house as a mini museum for his collections.
He said the house was old and historic, and it could have collapsed because of heavy rain in recent weeks.
“I have spent my whole life collecting this money. I am so sad. Not only the money, but a part of world history remains under the rubble," he said.
Kaplan said he would continue to exhibit his collection in Gaziantep after collecting it from under the ruins of his house. “But I need help to renovate my mini museum. If I don't get any support here, I will take this collection to Europe," he said.
Kaplan claimed that his money museum is the only place in the world that has the largest collections of ancient and obsolete currencies.
“There is only one money museum in the world, and it is here in Gaziantep," he said. “I have a huge collection of money from BC, AC and more recent eras."
