Silver treasures hid beside main road in Poland for 700 years — until now. See them

Moira Ritter
Tue, November 28, 2023

While exploring the side of a main street in Poland, archaeologists recently spotted something peculiar: a trove of about 100 to 150 ancient silver coins.

Experts were on Odrodzenia Street in Szprotawa when they made the unexpected discovery, according to a Nov. 17 news release from the Lubuskie Provincial Conservator of Monuments. The street once served as a connector between the town’s market square and a gate that no longer stands.

The coins have a green patina because they are made of copper and silver, according to experts.

The thin, flat coins were identified as wide Silesian bracteates minted between 1250 and 1300, archaeologists said. The coins are made of silver mixed with copper, which caused the green patina on their surface.


The treasures were found inside a fabric bag that was shallowly buried, according to the conservator. Some of the coins were organized in piles, indicating that they were originally arranged and tightly tied in the bag.

Experts said the coins were likely minted between 1250 and 1300.

Now, experts want to know who buried the coins and why. Their current hypothesis is that the coins were petty cash belonging to a wealthy person hundreds of years ago, archaeologists said in the release.

Szprotawa is about 260 miles southwest of Warsaw.

Google Translate was used to translate a news release from the Lubuskie Provincial Conservator of Monuments.