Emily Chan
While metal detecting in a Polish forest, a father-and-son duo came across 17 rare coins. The historic coins were found near Pomiechówek, a village located north of Warsaw in the region of Mazovia in east-central Poland. The treasure trove of coins is worth more than $120,000.
Metal detectorists with the Triglav Historical and Research Association and the Polish “Husaria” Treasure Hunters Association had been searching for the remains of an ancient road from the time of the Roman Empire. The team did not find the road, but their efforts did not go unrewarded.
Two metal detectorists with the group, Sławomir Milewski and his son Szymon, stumbled upon some rare artifacts. They were silver coins dating to the 16th and 17th centuries.
Their material value is estimated to be around half a million Polish zlotys, or roughly $122,000, according to Piotr Duda, an archaeologist from the Triglav Historical and Research Association.
“This is probably one of the largest treasures of this type discovered so far in Poland, and certainly in Mazovia. Yes, in recent years, deposits of coins from various historical eras have emerged, but not from the 16th and 17th centuries,” Duda said.
“We knew that these were silver coins and their value could be high, but when we started looking at them, we were rubbing our eyes with amazement. It is simply unbelievable.”
Within the collection, there were two types of coins: thalers and patagons. Thalers were large silver coins used for centuries throughout Europe.
They originated in the Holy Roman Empire and became the blueprint for many currencies. The English word “dollar” is derived from “thaler.”
The patagon is a large silver coin as well, but it was minted in the Spanish Netherlands, a territory that included parts of modern-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.
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