Treasure in the statue of the Count: silver and gold coins from the Thirty Years' War

During the reconstruction of the Church of St. Andrew in the German town of Eisleben, a real treasure was discovered. In the hollow leg of the statue of the Count at the Mansfeld family tomb were four leather pouches containing gold and silver coins. For almost 400 years, no one had any idea about them.

The sculpture of Count Johann Albrecht von Mansfeld-Arnstein and his wife Magdalena has been part of the family tomb since 1574. The coins were hidden in the count's hollow feet by someone fearing war and the turbulent period of Swedish plunder and violence in the 1740s. Apparently, he became a victim of the war and never retrieved the coins.

A total of 816 coins were discovered. Among them were gold ducats, double ducats, silver thalers and their smaller variants. The rarest gold coins were wrapped in paper and marked as the property of the Church. The set also included a very rare coin called the "Golden Angel". It had not only financial but also symbolic value - with the depiction of the archangel Michael fighting a dragon, it was considered a good luck charm.

Experts believe that the treasure may have come from the common parish fund "Aerarium Pastorale", which was founded in 1561. It was used to support pastors in their education and also to provide in case of illness or crisis. According to Ulf Dräger, curator and head of the department of the State Mint of Saxony-Anhalt in Germany, the income of the fund came from fees for weddings, baptisms, funerals or for privileged seats in the church.

"The discovery is an incredible story," Ulf Dräger told Live Science. "It's nothing short of a miracle that the treasure didn't come to light sooner. It will take some time for experts to assess the value of the coins, but all I can say at the moment is that it was a huge fortune," he added.

For example, less than half a kilo of butter was worth three pennies, almost a day's wage for a good miner. The total value of the coins found at the time would have been equivalent to more than a year's salary. Gold coins, however, were more common among the upper social classes. The hoard may therefore have served as an emergency reserve or as a means of support in uncertain times of crisis.

Martin Luther, one of the key reformers of the church, preached in the 12th century Gothic church of St. Andrew. During his lifetime, the church underwent extensive reconstruction. The wooden pulpit, from which Luther delivered his last four sermons just before his death, has been preserved to this day. It has become a symbol of pilgrimage.

Roman Němec

Sources: livescience.com, kunstmuseum-moritzburg.de, mz.de, the-sun.com

St. Andrew's Church

The treasure was stored in the count's foot

some of the coins of the set

According to the double-takt: Of the coins shown in the photo, the very rare 1/4 thaler of the Counts of Mansfeld with the title of Emperor Rudolf II is particularly worth mentioning, Ducats and a gold Angel of King Henry VII, or thalers from German states and duchies.

quarter-dollar 1636

According to the doublet: ,,Wahreitstaler" of the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Heinrich Julius from the mint in Goslar, Lower Saxony.

Two of the four leather pouches in original condition

part of the coins of the hoard

Part of the gold coins from the hoard (from top to bottom): an angel of King Henry VII of England . Tudor from the mint in the Tower of London, a Dutch merchant ducat from Utrecht and 2 ducats of the Archbishop of Mainz , Anselm Casimir Wamboldt of Umstadt.

Some coins were wrapped and marked