As you read this story, you will learn the following:
-
A woman stumbled across more than 2,150 early medieval silver coins while walking in the Czech Republic.
-
The coins were originally stored in ceramic jars during a period of political unrest and have remained in place since the first half of the 12th century.
-
Museum staff will now analyze and restore the dinars.
A ceramic jar turned into a grand prize for a woman during a walk in the Kutnohorsk region of the Czech Republic. While out for a walk, the woman stumbled upon an approximately 900-year-old cache containing more than 2,150 medieval silver coins known as dinars.
While the ceramic jars containing the coins have been largely removed, the coins themselves remain a rich collection. According to a translated statement, the artifacts are currently being processed by experts from the Institute of Archeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in Prague and the Czech Silver Museum in Kutna Hora.
Dubbed one of the greatest finds of the past decade, institute archaeologist Filip Velímský said the find was like winning the lottery, even if others were losers. “It was probably placed in its location during the first quarter of the 12th century.th He said, “At that time, domestic politics were unstable. At that time, there was a dispute over the throne of Prague among members of the Przemyssol dynasty in the country.”
Storing your coins in a ceramic container is one way to keep your coins safe. Even if the owner could never retrieve the coins, the container did fulfill its mission – the coins would not be found for the next 900 years.
According to experts, that owner couldn’t be anyone else. “Unfortunately, at the turn of the 11th centuryth and 12th We lack data on the purchasing power of contemporary coins for centuries,” Velimsky said. “But the amount is huge, unimaginable and at the same time unaffordable for ordinary people. It’s like winning a million dollar jackpot. “
According to the institute, the Kutnohorsk region was known for frequent wars over the throne of Prague, with armies of various rival princes repeatedly marching through the region. Experts claim that the large number of coins found in such a place may mean that they were originally used to pay soldiers’ wages, or were some kind of “trophy”.
Early analysis of the coins showed that they were minted at various locations in the Kutnohorsk region, and that they were most likely minted under the reigns of three different Przemysso leaders (probably between 1085 and 1107): King Vratislav II and princes Bzhetislav II and Bozhivoye II.
“These coins were most likely struck at the Prague Mint from silver that was imported into Bohemia at the time,” Lenka Mazačová, director of the Czech Silver Museum in Kutna Hora, said in a statement. These coins are made from a silver alloy that contains copper, lead, and trace amounts of other metals. Experts hope to figure out the coin’s exact composition to help determine the origin of the silver.
While we may never know the true intent or provenance of this coin collection, experts still plan to solve the mystery as best they can. Museum staff will now catalog the entire collection, clean and restore the coins, and subject them to X-ray imaging and spectroscopic analysis to determine their specific material composition, Mazacheva said. The goal is to publicly display the collection in 2025, highlighting 12th Centenary History of the Czech Republic.
You may also like