The treasure, which includes gold coins, bracelets, and snuffboxes, weighs approximately 6.8 kg / photo Museum of Eastern Bohemia in Hradec Králové
Experts have not yet determined the exact origin of the items, but the latest countermark on one of the coins dates back to 1921.
Two tourists in the Czech Republic discovered a stash of gold and treasures worth over $340,000, which may have been hidden by people fleeing persecution during World War II.
As reported by Live Science, the treasure, which includes gold coins, bracelets, and snuffboxes, weighs approximately 6.8 kg and was found inside two containers in a stone mound in the forest on Zvichin Hill, located at the foot of the Krkonoš mountains near the Polish border.
Interestingly, the 598 coins found in the first drawer cover a wide historical period - from 1808 to 1915 and include currency from France, Belgium, the Ottoman Empire, Russia, and the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. Several Austro-Hungarian coins also bore marks of reissue in 1921 in the Serbian or Bosnian-Herzegovinian provinces of former Yugoslavia.
"The treasure lay in the ground for no more than a hundred years. However, in this particular case, the year 1915 is not decisive for determining the time when the treasure was found on site. This is due to the presence of several items with miniature markings (so-called countermarks) that could have been added after World War I," said Vojtěch Bradle, a coin specialist at the Museum of Eastern Bohemia in Hradec Králové, who is overseeing the treasure.
Additionally, a metal box was found 1 meter away from the coin hoard. It contained 10 bracelets, 16 cigarette cases, a bag made of fine wire mesh, a chain, a comb, and a powder box. All these items are made of yellow metal, possibly a gold alloy.
It is important to note that experts have not yet determined the exact origin of the items, but the latest countermark on one of the coins dates back to 1921. This, along with the location of the find near the former border between Czech and German settlements, may indicate that the coins were hidden as a last resort by people escaping persecution from Nazi Germany in 1938.
It is noted that the coins could have been hidden even after the war. In 1945, over 3 million Germans were expelled from the Czech Republic for alleged complicity in Nazi war crimes. Miroslav Novak, head of archaeology at the Museum of Eastern Bohemia in Hradec Králové, said:
"The list of possible reasons why it was likely buried is quite understandable. It was the beginning of the war, the deportation of Czech and Jewish populations, followed by the deportation of Germans after the war, so there are several possibilities. There was also a monetary reform, which could have been a reason as well. Obviously, it was not about the nominal value of the coins, whether they were 5, 10, or 100 crowns. It was not about what could be bought with the coins - that did not matter. It was deliberately hidden because it was a precious metal."
To get to the bottom of the mystery, the museum is investigating the items found in the treasure for additional markings and is also searching the archives for evidence that could trace the treasure's ownership to its former owners.
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