Locals storm dump after $107,000 find in old wardrobe: 'Madness'
A public dump has been flooded with fortune hunters after at least $107,262 was found in an old wardrobe being crushed on the tip.
The gold rush started when a bulldozer ran over the discarded closet and saw dollar bills flying into the air in Las Parejas, a city in the northern Argentine province of Santa Fe.
As he inspected them, he saw they were perfectly preserved USD$100 bills, apparently stashed by the wardrobe's last owner.
Now officials have closed the tip after locals flooded the site looking for cash.
More than USD$75,000 (A$107,262) has been found already, local media reports.
Federico Baez, who claimed some of the loot last week, said he is sure there is more money buried at the dump.
"A colleague got out of his truck and saw a USD$100 bill on the ground, all ironed out," he told local media.
"It caught our attention because it was impeccable."
"We gathered together around USD$10,000 between six of us.
"Then another guy came along and found USD$25,000, he was luckier than us. I think there has to be more buried there."
Theories emerge about source of cash
Now that authorities have seized control of the tip, residents are left guessing how much money is still in there and where it could have come from.
Many believe the cash belonged to an old lady without any children who died recently.
They say new residents at her old home threw out the wardrobe when they moved in.
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Due to high inflation in Argentina for many years, it has become common for citizens to hoard their cash at home due to a general distrust in banks.
City mayor Horacio Compagnucci called the cash grab at the tip "green madness."
"I am convinced that all this green madness is happening because they found dollar bills. In the context of the country going through a bad economic period, the word ‘dollar’ is currently on everyone’s lips," he said.
Excitement over the cash has prompted Argentine residents to produce a series of memes, some of which depict President Alberto Fernandez and Vice President Cristina Kirchner scouring the dump for cash.
Australscope
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