PARIS: A French Champagne producer is spreading the wealth with his workers after they discovered nearly US$1 million in gold coins stashed away in the building's rafters, reported Agence France Press (AFP).

"One of the workers (was) attacking the building's ceiling with a crowbar when gold coins started to rain down on him, followed by sacks of gold," Francois Lange, head of Alexandre Bonnet in Les Riceys France, told AFP.

In all, 497 gold coins were unearthed, with the majority literally raining down upon the workers who were busy renovating the building.

Minted between 1851 and 1928, the coins have a face value marking of US$20 each. However, together they are now worth an estimated US$980,000, according to AFP.

Lange says he will keep half of the money for himself, while splitting half with the workers who made the discovery.

So far, no one knows for sure who placed the coins in the building, but AFP reports the building was previously owned by a wine producer in the 1930s.