They searched for the Roman road and discovered a million-dollar treasure from the Thirty Years' War

A father and son discovered a treasure trove of rare European coins from the 16th and 17th centuries near Pomiechówek, Poland, with the help of metal detectors. Most of the coins are in excellent condition; their estimated value is almost 3 million crowns.

Father Sławomir Milewski and son Szymon are members of the Triglav Historical and Research Association. During the official search for the remains of the Roman road in cooperation with the Polish association of treasure hunters "Husaria", they came across a hoard of 17 rare silver coins, many of which are very rare and valued coins. The coins weigh almost half a kilogram and according to experts, this is the largest treasure from this period in Poland.

"We rubbed our eyes in disbelief," said Piotr Duda, an archaeologist at Triglav. "It's probably one of the biggest finds of its kind ever discovered in Poland, and certainly in Mazovia. Over the past few years, coin depots from various historical periods have been found, but not from the 16th and 17th centuries. Their historical significance is immeasurable, with an estimated material value of half a million zlotys (about CZK 2.9 million)," he added.

The collection contains mainly Saxon, Brandenburg and Dutch coins from the period of the Thirty Years' War. The oldest coins date from 1587-1564, the youngest from 1641. One of the coins is also a thaler of Emperor Rudolf II from 1604. Among the most important is the rare thaler of Sigismund III. Vasa, minted in Toruń in 1630. A similar coin, but in worse condition, was recently auctioned for half a million crowns. Other rare coins include the Falck thaler of 1623 and the Tyrolean thaler of 1621.

Most of the coins are in excellent condition. The treasure could have been hidden by a merchant or mercenary during the Thirty Years' War, for example. Now the coins will be conserved, then they should be assigned to the local museum and, according to the members of the association, they will also be on display in the Modlin fortress.

Roman Němec

Sources: tvp.pl, polskieradio.pl, facebook.com/PSPHusaria