Latest news with #VojtěchBrádle
CNN
20-05-2025
- General
- CNN
Hikers find mysterious stash of gold hidden on a mountain trail
(CNN) — Ten gold bracelets, 17 cigar cases, a powder compact, a comb, and a whopping 598 gold coins: The items are all part of a valuable and somewhat mysterious stash, found by chance by two hikers in the northeastern Czech Republic. The hikers, who wish to remain anonymous, were taking a shortcut through the forest in the Krkonoše Mountains — a popular hiking spot — when they saw an aluminum box sticking out of a stony wall. After they opened it and discovered the loot, they immediately took it to the Museum of Eastern Bohemia, in the nearby town of Hradec Králové, according to Miroslav Novak, the head of the archaeological department at the museum. 'The finders came to our museum's numismatist (coin expert) without a prior appointment. Only after that did archaeologists begin to deal with the find and set out to explore the site,' Novak told CNN in an email. Who may have hidden the treasure and why is still up for debate, but one thing is certain: The stash can't be more than about a century old, because one of the coins is dated 1921. As for the rest, there are only hypotheses, for now. 'It is most likely related to the turbulent period before the start of World War II, when the Czech and Jewish population was leaving the border area, or to 1945, when the Germans were leaving,' Novak said. A complete historical appraisal of the stash is still ongoing, and two of the cigar cases are tightly shut and remain unopened, but the metal value of the gold coins alone — which weigh 3.7 kilograms, or 8.16 pounds — is 8 million Czech koruna, or about $360,000, according to the museum's coin expert, Vojtěch Brádle. The finding has sparked interest in the surrounding community, and Novak says the museum is getting calls with 'various local rumors,' which he hopes could help solve the riddle of the gold's origin. Speculation is fueled by the fact that, oddly, there are no local coins in the mix. 'Half are of Balkan origin and the other half of French origin,' Novak said. 'Central European coins, such as German ones, are completely missing. But the find is located on the former ethnic border between the Czech and German populations.' Among the theories submitted by the public, Novak said, is one that traces the ownership of the coins back to wealthy families from the surrounding area, such as the the Swéerts-Špork family, the owners of the Kuks estate, a large baroque complex overlooking the Elbe River that includes a summer residence, a spa and a monastery. Another suggests the cache could be war spoils of Czechoslovak legionnaires. Findings like this are not especially common for the area, Novak noted. 'About nine kilometers southeast, a hoard of 2,700 silver denarii (a type of European trade coin) from the 12th century was found ten years ago,' he said by email. 'Many residents left this area during the 20th century, which is why there are many abandoned farms here.' Vojtěch Brádle agreed that the makeup of the stash is unusual. 'Usually, Czech finds from the 20th century mainly contain German and Czechoslovak coins. There is not a single one here,' he said. 'Most of the pieces from this treasure did not travel directly to Bohemia. They must have been somewhere in the Balkan Peninsula after the First World War. Some of the coins have countermarks from the former Yugoslavia. These were only minted on coins sometime in the 1920s or 1930s. At the moment, I do not know of any other Czech find that would contain coins with these countermarks.' More research is required, he added, to understand the metal composition of the remaining items, and obtain a more accurate overall value. It's significant that the most recent coin in the stash is from 1921, according to Mary Heimann, a professor of modern history and an expert of Czechoslovak history at the University of Cardiff in the United Kingdom. That was the year the Soviet-Polish War ended when the Treaty of Riga was signed, she said, but it was also a year of financial crisis in Czechoslovakia, the former state that separated peacefully into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993. 'It was an unstable period, there was a downturn in the economy and widespread unemployment. For that reason, it's not that surprising somebody would think of burying a stash of gold at that time,' she added. Despite Novak's suggestions the stash was likely left around 1945, Heimann thinks that if that were the case, more recent coins would probably be in the mix. The absence of local currency, however, makes things murkier. '(The person who hid the coins) could have been a collector, or someone who worked in museums. Or someone who stole a collection from somewhere. This is borderland territory, it separates what's today the Czech Republic — what was in the past Czechoslovakia — from Poland,' Heimann said. 'The first World War didn't end overnight, the ramifications were still being felt everywhere. There was still instability of borders, there was still economic crisis, there was quite a lot of crime. I suppose you might expect that in those border regions and in places of mixed ethnicity, there would be particularly high tension. So it might be that someone could be more frightened of the future if they lived in those areas than someone who lived elsewhere.' Once the items have undergone further material analysis, they will be preserved and stored in the museum's coin collection. A short exhibition is planned for the fall. And then, who will get to keep the loot? According to Czech law, Novak said, archaeological finds are the property of the local regional administration from the moment of discovery. 'In this case, the treasure was correctly handed over to the museum,' he said. 'The finder is entitled to a financial reward, which depends on the value of the metal or historical appraisal.'
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Hikers Discover Gold Coins, Treasure Stashed During WWII
Two hikers stumbled across a hoard of gold and treasure which was hidden during World War II and is now worth roughly $340,000, Live Science reported. The discovery was made in the Czech Republic within a stone mound in the forests surrounding Zvičina Hill, which is located in the Krkonoše Mountains near Poland's border. The cache, which weighs about 15 pounds, includes two containers filled with bracelets, snuff boxes, and gold coins. The artifacts, including 10 bracelets, 16 cigarette cases, a comb, and a compact mirror, were uniformly crafted from a yellow metal which scientists believe may have been a gold total, 598 coins were found. They date from 1808 to 1915 and include currency from several countries, including France, Belgium, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire. Also present were several coins from what was formerly Austria-Hungary. Those had stamp marks from a reissue in 1921, which indicated the coins were circulated around the Serbian or Bosnia-Herzegovinian provinces in former Yugoslavia. "The treasure lay hidden in the ground for a little over a hundred years at most. In this particular case, however, the year 1915 is not decisive for determining the time when the hoard was found on the site," said Vojtěch Brádle, a coin specialist at the Museum of Eastern Bohemia in Hradec Králové, which is analyzing the treasure. "This is due to the presence of several pieces with miniature marks (so-called contramarks), which could have been added after the First World War."The trove's location near a former border between Czech and German settlements indicates that the cache was likely buried by people fleeing Nazi Germany around 1938. "The list of potential reasons for which it was likely buried is fairly clear. It was the beginning of the war, the deportation of the Czech and Jewish populations, then the deportation of the Germans after the war, so there are several possibilities," explained Miroslav Novák, head of archaeology at the Museum of Eastern Bohemia in Hradec Králové. "There was also a monetary reform, which could have also been a reason. It was clearly not about the nominal value of the coins, whether they were worth five, 10, or 100 crowns. It's not about what the coins could buy — that's not what mattered. It was deliberately hidden because it was precious metal." The team at the Museum of Eastern Bohemia will continue to analyze the coins and other artifacts for significant markings with the hope of identifying the trove's former owners.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Hikers Discover Hidden Treasure That May Be Worth More Than $300,000
The next time you go for a walk, you may be tempted to look for buried gold. A hike in the Czech Republic turned into an accidental treasure hunt for two men who stumbled upon a buried trove of riches. In February, two men were trekking through the foothills of the Krkonoše Mountains, located near the Polish border in the northern region of the Czech Republic, when they discovered a canister filled with hundreds of shiny gold coins. Nearby, an iron box was found with more treasures, including cigarette cases, bracelets, a comb, and a chain with a key. The men handed over the findings to the Museum of East Bohemia, where archaeologists are now analyzing the discoveries, according to an April 25 Facebook post. Together, the items weigh more than 15 pounds and could be worth as much as $340,000. Under Czech law, the hikers may receive up to 10 percent of the treasure's value as a reward, TVP World reports. Related: 14 Valuable Collectibles to Look for in Thrift Stores The can contained 598 coins neatly arranged into 11 columns and wrapped in black cloth, weighing more than 8 pounds. The coins were stamped with dates ranging from 1808 to 1915. Some coins also bear countermarks, indicating that they were reissued in 1921 in an area of Yugoslavia most likely encompassing modern-day Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to Artnet. The coins originated from various countries such as France, Turkey, Belgium, Romania, Italy, and Russia. The reason the treasure was buried is unknown. Miroslav Novák, head of the archaeological department of the Museum of Eastern Bohemia, told Czech Radio that it's possible the treasure belonged to one of the thousands of Czech or Jewish people who fled during World War II to escape persecution. He notes that it could also be linked to "monetary reform," referring to the monetary reform forced upon Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union in 1953. While it remains unclear who hid the stash and why it was never retrieved, experts believe it was hidden because the coins are gold. "It was clearly not about the nominal value of the coins. It's not about what the coins could buy—that's not what mattered. It was deliberately hidden because it was precious metal," the Museum of Eastern Bohemia's coin expert, Vojtěch Brádle, told Czech Radio. Read the original article on Martha Stewart
Miami Herald
01-05-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Hikers find boxes under rocks in Czechia — and discover century-old treasures
In the foothills of the Krkonoše Mountains of the Czech Republic, two hikers worked their way across the southwest slopes of Zvičina Hill. It was February, and their hike led them to the edge of an overgrown field, now with tall grass and trees. Then they noticed a man-made stone embankment. Tucked under the stones was an aluminum can — with contents worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. The can was filled with gold coins, according to an April 25 Facebook post from The Museum of Eastern Bohemia in Hradec Králové, and just part of a massive collection of treasures from the past century found stashed in the rocks. The coins were arranged in 11 stacks and were wrapped in a black fabric, archaeologists said after the treasures were turned over to the museum. There were a total of 598 coins, valued at about 7.5 million Czech koruna, or roughly $340,000, according to Radio Prague International. Just a few feet away from the aluminum can, the hikers found 16 metal snuffboxes, 10 bracelets, a fine wire mesh purse, a comb, a chain and key and a compact case, according to the museum. The coins date between 1808 and 1915, but some of the coins have small countermarks that were typically added after World War I, the museum said. They were stamped in the former Yugoslavia in the 1920s and 1930s, meaning the treasure was likely stashed after that period. 'The list of potential reasons for which it was likely buried is fairly clear. It was the beginning of the war, the deportation of the Czech and Jewish populations, then the deportation of the Germans after the war, so there are several possibilities. There was also a monetary reform, which could have also been a reason,' Miroslav Novák, head of archaeology at the Museum of Eastern Bohemia, told Radio Prague International. Archaeologists believe the treasure was stashed with the intention of the hider coming back for their goods, but why they never returned will remain a mystery, according to the outlet. The coins, at least, were likely stashed not for their monetary value as currency, but because of their monetary value as precious metals, the museum said. Numismatists, or coin experts, saw coins in the collection came from France, Turkey, Belgium, Austro-Hungary, and even coins from the Ottoman Empire, according to the museum. The small marks on the coins show that they were not intended to remain in Czechia, but were instead meant for the former Yugoslavia, now Serbia or Bosnia and Herzegovina, museum numismatist Vojtěch Brádle told Radio Prague International. 'Sometime after 1921, they must have been restamped in local mints, and only later, under unknown circumstances, did they make their way from former Yugoslavia to our country,' Brádle told the outlet. 'What is certain, though, is that in 1921, at least part of these coins couldn't have been on our territory. They must have still been in the Balkans at the time.' The total treasure weighed nearly 15 pounds, but the other artifacts beside the coins are still being studied, the museum said. The treasure was found near the town of Trutnov, in the northern region of Czechia, or the Czech Republic, just south of Poland's southern border. Chat GPT, an AI chat bot, was used to translate the Facebook post from the The Museum of Eastern Bohemia in Hradec Králové.
