Posted on 05/03/2025 3:52:57 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The hikers found the treasure hidden in a field overgrown by trees
Two tourists discovered a treasure trove of gold coins and bracelets while hiking in the Czech Republic.
The hikers found the treasure in two containers hidden in a man-made wall in an overgrown field in February, according to an official Facebook post from the Museum of East Bohemia.
Upon opening the containers, they discovered gold coins, bracelets, and cigarette cases weighing a total of 15 lbs.
The museum — which is currently in possession of the treasure — said that the hikers began investigating the wall when they spotted an aluminum can sticking out above the surface of a shaft. The jar contained 598 gold coins “divided into 11 columns and wrapped in black fabric.”
The bracelets and other objects were then located in a metal box stored about 3 ft. away.
Miroslav Novák, the Head of the Archaeological Department at the museum, noted that while hiding precious objects in the ground has been a common practice since “prehistoric times,” it is unique to find such a large amount of precious metal hidden from a relatively recent time period, per the musuem’s Facebook post.
Many of the coins found were dated between 1808 and 1915, while several were minted during the twenties and thirties, which helped the museum to better determine when the coins may have been placed in the wall. They noted that the coins originated from a variety of places, including France, Austria-Hungary, Belgium and the Ottoman Empire.
Local news outlet Radio Prague International reported that the coins alone were valued at about $341,000.
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The Nazis began stealing gold and other assets from Jews in East Bohemia following the annexation of the Sudetenland in 1938, after the Munich Agreement on September 29. This marked the start of systematic looting in the region, as Jews and Czechs fled or were persecuted. Mass deportations of Jews from Bohemia and Moravia, including East Bohemia, intensified in October 1941, with many sent to ghettos like Theresienstadt, where their remaining possessions were confiscated. A recent find in the Podkrkonosí Mountains, reported on April 29, 2025, uncovered a 15.4lb hoard of gold and jewelry, likely hidden during this period, possibly around 1938 or shortly after, as suggested by the dates on the coins (1808–1915) and their circulation history. The looting continued throughout the war, with significant plundering during the Holocaust in Bohemia and Moravia, where around 80,000 Jews were murdered by 1945.
“They also found a note with a single word written on it: “Zihuatanejo.””
OK, you got me. How about a clue?
Zihuatanejo = “Rosebud”
Or a town in Mexico, per search.
The character says that he wants to go there and open a hotel, fix up a boat so he can take guests out on fishing trips.
The character also says that the Mexicans say that the Pacific Ocean has no memories . A warm place without any memories is what the character yearns for.
The mentioning of the town resulted in the town becoming a tourist destination.
If you find something like this, keep your mouth shut or the authorities will be coming for it.
My first thought as well.
Probably stashes like this all across Europe placed there by people who didn't make it out alive to retrieve them and told nobody about them.
Holy crap…
At today’s spot price per ounce, it’s not likely the numismatic value exceeds the melt value, unless you see some rare coins in there, which I do not.
The article says the whole treasure weighed about 15 pounds.. times 14.48 = 218.7 Troy oz - times $3,247.4 = $710,206 melt value.
So, if the coins were half the weight of the treasure, that would make them worth $355k in melt value.
Based on that, the $340k seems reasonable.
Why do you think they are worth more?
The Shawshank Redemption
LOL!
“The article says the whole treasure weighed about 15 pounds.. times 14.48 = 218.7 Troy oz - times $3,247.4 = $710,206 melt value.”
Dude, the bundle is not 24k.
Didn’t say it was..
I was responding to a FReeper who said the coins were worth a lot more than $340k.
My use of current spot gold price per Troy ounce (.999 24K) was not intended to estimate the value of the treasure (which is impossible from a photo), but rather to suggest that the museum estimate of $340k for the coins alone does not seem unreasonably low to me, assuming they weigh about 7.5 lb.
If anything, the $340k value seems high - but my point was that it wasn’t low.
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