Thank you guys !
The person who sold it was retired recently and lives close to me but in an old but big and beautiful estate at a central location in the town. I guess he didn't need to starve. I asked why he would sell it and was told he didn't work anymore since the company, which he part-owned closed down. He and the other owner had split the good stuff and took it with them as he said. I'm not sure this is the complete story since he should have known that this set has a much higher value, or he just didn't care. I asked if he had more metrology or machinery stuff but was told he had sold some and just dumped a lot. So there was nothing more to get and the ignited dream on the way to him, to find a gold mine and fill the car with first class pieces, didn't come thru.
But I can live with it since I got a gem in the tooling domain.