How can you know that you have a treasure trove left to rust in sheds on the family’s farm? – You’ll call the auctioneers, that’s what the grandchildren of the  entrepreneur Roger Baillon did and discovered the collection of 60 vintage automobiles from the 1930s to the 1950s, could be worth £12 million or more at auction.

Among the 60 vintage vehicles are a Ferrari that once had been used in the filming of a movie with Jane Fonda and a Talbot-Lago previously owned by extravagant Egyptian King Farouk.

A Talbot-Lago T26 Cabriolet once owned by Egyptian King Farouk

A vintage Ferrari (left), once sat in by Jane Fonda, and a Maserati A6G 200 Berlinetta Grand Sport Frua (right), one of only three in the world.

“This sort of thing doesn’t happen often enough! I think, above all, you go into this profession for discoveries like this. Yes, this really is a treasure,” said Artcurial Motorcars manager Matthieu Lamoure

“I have to say that when we arrived here, we found ourselves overcome with emotion. Probably much like Lord Carrington and Howard Carter, on being the first person for centuries to enter Tutankhamun’s tomb. It really was a case of waking up sleeping beauty”

Pierre Novikoff, a senior specialist at Artcurial, said, “this was somewhere between a metallic graveyard and a museum. Nature had taken a hold, over the years. Ivy had invaded a car and entirely covered its wheel, while weeds had taken root in a passenger compartment as easily as in a greenhouse”