Authorities in the Czech Republic recently unveiled a discovery in the Podkrkonošsko Mountains of northeastern Czechia. A group of hikers stumbled upon a 7-kilogram treasure hoard, consisting of 598 gold coins, a silver purse, and gold-colored objects such as bracelets and cigarette cases. Upon realizing the scope of the discovery, the hikers notified authorities and handed the hoard over to the Museum of East Bohemia in Hradec Králové.
"One of the most extraordinary discoveries in modern Czech history," said Miroslav Novák, Head of the Archaeological Department at the Museum of East Bohemia. "When I saw the inside of the box, my jaw dropped," Novák said. He added, "Without a doubt the coins are made of solid gold," valuing the entire hoard at about 7.5 million Czech crowns (more than 330,000 US dollars).
The hoard was concealed in two containers behind a man-made stone wall on the hill's southwestern slope. Among the items were 598 gold coins wrapped in black fabric, a silver purse, 10 bracelets, 16 cigarette cases, a key attached to a chain, and a powder compact. Most of the objects were made of yellow metal, likely gold.
"The treasure was hidden in the ground for a maximum of just over a hundred years. According to the stamped dates, it contains coins from 1808 to 1915," explained numismatist Vojtěch Brádle, who analyzed the coins and determined that the newest coin dates from 1915. He pointed out, "It is about Austria-Hungary and Francis Joseph I. I learned that these coins did not travel from the Mint of Vienna to us, but to the Balkans. And there, after the collapse of the monarchy, in the then Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, they minted marks, the so-called countermarks. This mark was still used there during the 1930s."
Most of the coins come from France, while others trace back to Austria-Hungary, Belgium, and the Ottoman Empire. There is not a single coin from Germany or Czechoslovakia, an absence that deepens the mystery surrounding who buried the hoard and why. Researchers note that several coins bear smaller counter-stamps that were likely added after World War I. Brádle also stated that the coins were in Serbia at some point between the 1920s and 1930s, but they do not know how or when they arrived in East Bohemia.
The discovery is notable not only for its weight but also for its recent origin, and its historical value is said to be immeasurable. Researchers are now trying to solve the mystery of why the treasure hoard was buried on the mountainside. One theory is that the treasure could have been hidden after Nazi Germany annexed parts of Czechoslovakia known collectively as the Sudetenland around 1938, as many Jewish and Czech citizens migrated inland to escape persecution. Another hypothesis is that the treasure could have belonged to Germans who were expelled by Stalin's communists at the end of the war.
"The treasure could belong to a Jewish family, an exiled Czech, or a German," said Petr Grulich, the Museum Director. "Even the possibility that it was stolen from an antique dealer was discussed, but this is considered a weaker possibility," Grulich said.
"Burying treasure has been a practice dating back to prehistoric times—initially for ritual reasons, later to protect wealth during turbulent periods," Novák explained, noting the commonality of the practice throughout history. He added that initially, such deposits were more common due to religious movements, and later they were goods stored in uncertain times with the intention of returning to retrieve them.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.