Staff from a Calgary Plumbing company found a 1 Kg gold bar worth about $50,000 while renovating a bathroom. After inspecting the gold bar, they contacted the home owner to inform him they'd unearthed some treasure. http://calgaryherald.com/news/local...-gold-brick-while-renovating-calgary-bathroom The plumbers say they always return what they find. It's good for business I suppose and the media coverage they got will most obviously reward them with more work. Doing the right thing always has a karmic reward.
I have to be honest... I'm not sure what I would have done. For the smaller stuff of course I return it to the owners but something like that.. $50k that really isn't the house owners either since from what I gather they didn't put it there but rather it was left by someone else a long time ago. Yes I know the article said that the home owner confirmed it was his but hey, if someone called me and said they found a 1kg gold bar in my floor I'd react the same way "ohh right I was wondering where it was!"
When it comes to being a business man in a community, nothing is worth more than being known for your honesty. If it came out (and it would as several people were present) that they found something on client property and kept it, well... it is a short jump to suspecting they might be less than honest in other areas like padding their hours or their bill, or substituting inferior parts. On the other hand giving the legal owner the property and telling the press probably got them the equivalent of thousands of dollars in advertising.
I'm also not sure that I'd have been that honest either! It's one thing finding a purse or a wallet and handing it in to the police or tracing the owner, but to find a gold bar? No matter how much good publicity they get because of it, I doubt it will be anywhere near 50k's worth!
The men were working on a property and while it was honest of them, anything on the property would not belong to them in any case. Finders only keep when the owner doesn't claim or can be found. Hopefully they will get a good bonus.
I guess they only did the right thing. Strictly speaking, anything that's within the vicinity of the house, is owned by the owners. And that includes the gold bar as well. I think anything we take that is not ours can get back to us in the end. Like, for instance, when I was younger, I picked up a 500 peso bill. I did not find its owner and used it for my own. In the end, I lost double the money I got. And I think karma works that way. So now, I find the owner of whatever item is lost or maybe put the money to charity, if ever I find one.
It doesn't need to be worth a full $50,00 just the be worth the difference between being known as a thief (to your potential customers and workers who might then consider it fair game to steal from you) and being known as a paragon of honest as the average reader would doubt they would do the same. Iago: Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, Is the immediate jewel of their souls. Who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis something, nothing; 'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands; But he that filches from me my good name Robs me of that which not enriches him, And makes me poor indeed. Othello Act 3, scene 3, 155–161
Nowadays finding a gold bar is one of the rarest things to experience so I guess these plumbers could say that this is one of the most memorable moments of their career. $50,000 is a very big amount to just let go off your hands but the plumbers have shown just how high their principles are by not giving in to temptation. They might not have been able to take home a big amount of money but the honor and lifetime peace of mind they receive from their act is worth more than gold.
Same thing happened to me. I was young and stupid then. Got something from a street vendor and conveniently "forgot" to pay, something I regretted soon after because I lost a lot more money than the item I'd "bought" cost. Though I learned something from that, I don't know what I'd do with a $50K gold bar . . .
Until we're put in that position though, I'm not sure that any of us will know exactly what we'd do really. We might think Wed like to do the right thing, 50k could be life changing, and if you could get away with it, you'd be very tempted despite what you know is the right thing to do.
