11.10.2011 A jar of coins hidden from the Nazis

A jar of gold coins discovered at the end of World War II was sold at auction ten years ago. It was estimated to fetch up to £80,000. It was dug up in a garden in London, belonging to a family of Jewish refugees who hid the treasure from the Nazis.

They had to flee Germany for England before the start of the Second World War. They buried the coins in the garden because they feared being intercepted during the Nazi invasion. The family eventually died during the air raid and no one else knew about the hidden coins at the time.

It wasn't until nearly 70 years later that the treasure was found, it is called the "Hackey Hoard". It was discovered by Terence Castle, who currently owned the garden. Specifically, the American Double Eagle coins. It was the first $20 coin, the first being minted in 1850. It is a child of the California gold rush.

Castle's preservation was exemplary and he immediately reported the find to Kate Sumnall of the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), who then passed the treasure on to the British Museum. The coroner concerned subsequently ruled that the gold should be returned to its rightful owner.

Something incredible has been achieved, namely finding a descendant of the family who died in the air raid. Eighty-one-year-old Max Sulzbacher was found to be the rightful owner of the coins during the investigation. The coins were buried in the garden by his uncle.

Tense decided to sell the collection at auction. The sale was handled by Southeby's, a well-known auction house in London. It was expected that collectors would "fight" for the treasure and raise at least eighty thousand pounds.

Max Sulzbacher's family settled in Hackney in 1938. His father was a banker and had fled to Australia. It was only after the war that the full horror of the Nazi persecution of the Jews, in which six million people were killed in the Holocaust, was fully revealed.

Unfortunately, the Nazis got their hands on much of the Jewish property. It was clear to Max Sulzbacher's family as soon as the blitzkrieg began that no good things were in store for them, and the Nazis would probably take over Great Britain as well...

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk