An exceptionally rare Louis Vuitton steamer trunk has sold for a staggering £130,000 at auction – despite having spent years being used as a toolbox.

The battered wardrobe trunk, dating from the 1920s or earlier, went under the hammer at John Nicholson’s in Fernhurst on Tuesday, June 11, with a humble estimate of just £300-500.

But this unassuming chest turned out to be a true treasure trove. Identified as an Explorer model – a design made in tiny numbers to survive the perils of tropical travel – the metal-covered trunk had been gathering dust for decades in a garage, its owner unaware he was sitting on a small fortune.

Louis Vuitton’s Explorer trunks are clad in zinc or aluminium to resist heat and humidity, and had been produced in minute numbers for adventurous aristocrats and wealthy globetrotters. Flat-topped for stackability and built to last, they were designed to weather storms, both literal and economic.

This example had lost its internal fittings and original label, but key details survived. A single central catch bore the Louis Vuitton name and addresses in Paris and London – specifically 149 New Bond Street, the firm’s London flagship between 1900 and 2010. Its unique serial number, 748929, confirmed its early 20th-century provenance. The company made just a few of these, and all in 1892, although released later.

At 44 x 22 x 21½ inches, the trunk was once a double wardrobe model. Its weathered appearance – the auction house described it as “a wonderful opportunity for a specialist restorer.”

There were 11 bidders and the successful buyer was in the room. It just goes to show: sometimes, buried treasure really does turn up in your shed. This was a genuine trunk of gold — even if it was full of spanners.