FRANKFURT, Germany — A German man has won 15.3 million euros (US$18 million) in the lottery after discovering a forgotten ticket in his coat pocket six months after he bought it.

The father from the Frankfurt area had remained oblivious to his winnings all spring and summer despite a poster campaign to find him, the Lotto Hessen company said Monday.

But with the weather turning chilly in Germany, the man reached for a jacket he had not worn since March — to discover the ticket in his pocket.

“It wasn’t until the weekend that I found the ticket again, folded up in the inside pocket of my jacket,” the unidentified man was quoted as saying in a statement by Lotto Hessen.

“When I checked the numbers on my phone and saw the winning amount, I was completely shocked –- luckily I was sitting d

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