Prior to 1939 the gold objects that treasure hunters removed illegally from archaeological sites were either taken to the bank to be exchanged for cash or were sold to gallery owners and dealers in art and antiquities. The gold purchased by the bank was melted down. The items acquired by the galleries and dealers were resold to private collectors, museums, and other institutions, many of which were destined for other countries. In 1939 a man named Julio Caro convinced the board of the Banco de la República in Bogotá that the gold items should be preserved and retained within Colombia. The gold artifacts that were accumulated were kept in the bank's boardroom and, from 1947 to 1959, were shown only to important visitors. In 1959 the bank constructed a new building, which contained a long room in the basement lined with showcases displaying the artifacts. For the first time the public was permitted to see the golden treasures of the past. When another new building for the bank was under construction in 1970, several individuals associated with the bank promoted the idea of making it into a first-class scientific museum for the exhibition of their collection. Museum experts and anthropologists were called in to bring order and cultural milieu to the exhibits. Upon completion of the four-storied, prism-shaped Museo del Oro building, the treasures of the Malagana culture and the other cultures of Colombia received the finest of accommodations for their preservation and for the enlightenment of present and future generations