According to Argentine authorities, two Paraguayan men who were trying to cross the border with a 19th Century gold ingot worth more than $2 million have been arrested.

The authorities have stated that 55-pound block of gold was stamped with the inscription "Central Bank of Paraguay 1824."

As reported by the National, the Federal Public Revenue Administration in Buenos Aires has said that the 19th century ingot may be of historic significance.

The travelers reportedly said that they had purchased the gold from a group of indigenous people for about $50,000. According to a BBC article, when the men were stopped in a lorry for a routine search, about a kilo of silver was found and seized.

The men had just crossed from the Paraguayan town of Encarnacion into Posadas in Argentina.

The two Paraguayan men, who reside in Argentina, grew nervous and that is when the customs officers got suspicious.

The customs officers discovered the ingot hidden away under a passenger seat by employing the use of a scanner.

The gold might have possibly been buried away for safekeeping by a wealthy family during the war of the Triple Alliance in 1864-1870.

During this time, when Paraguay was fighting against Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, wealthy families who found themselves in the war’s path would often bury their valuables with the full hopes of recovering their items after the conflict.

Paraguay, having been defeated by the alliance, suffered massive casualties and a great loss of territories.

Approximately 85 percent of Paraguay’s men were killed in the war.

The landlocked area is today considered one of the poorest countries in South America.

Argentine sources say, according to the BBC, that officials in Paraguay have been informed of the arrests.