While searching for tractor parts on a Polish farm, a metal detectorist spotted different metals instead. More specifically, he found a 17th-century hoard of coins that were stored underground.
Searching For Tractor Parts Led to the Discovery of a 17th Century Hoard
The hoard reportedly contains around 1,000 copper coins. As per Live Science, it was found in late February close to the village of Zaniówka. The hoard was discovered by Michal Lotys.
Loty used a metal detector to search for discarded parts for his sister's tractor. In one field, the detector started beeping. He then scraped off the topsoil layer and saw coins spilling from a crushed clay "siwak," which is a local-style jug that has a thin neck and one handle.
Heritage Daily reports that, across Poland, it is illegal to run amateur artifact searchers with a metal detector, be it for personal or commercial use, unless local authorities grant a license. In such cases, all finds should be reported to the authorities and surrendered to the state.
Hence, Lotys reached out to archaeologists from Lublin, which is roughly 95 miles southeast of Warsaw. The specialists then went to the farmland on the next day.
400-Year-Old Hoard Filled With 1,000 Copper Coins
1000 #coins from the 17th century found in a jar in eastern #Poland near Zaniówka (Lublin Voivodeship):https://t.co/A2cINkR3TL via @HeritageDaily - #Archaeology News#numismatics
— Subargenteus (@MPilekic) March 5, 2023
📸©️Lublin Provincial Conservator of Monuments pic.twitter.com/OQ8DOsc1Kh
Investigations revealed that the hidden hoard's location was outlined clearly on the soil's surface. As per First News, this indicates that the hoard was intentionally buried.
Dariusz Kopciowski, who serves as the director of the heritage conservation agency of Lublin, announced that the hoard was filled with around a thousand Lithuanian and Polish copper coins from the 1700s.
Being buried for four centuries caused the copper coins to turn green due to oxidation. Several coins have also corroded in layers.
Around 115 of the coins are loose. Moreover, the whole hoard is around 6.6 pounds heavy.
Further investigations reveal that most of the coins date between 1663 and 1666, in mints in Vilnius in Lithuania, Warsaw, and Brest, which is present-day Belarus.
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Boratynki Coins
According to Zwiadowca Historii, a Polish metal detectorist website, these coins are known as "boratynki." This was named after Tito Livio Burattini, who used to manage the Kraków mint during that period.
Burattini was a renowned polymath and investor who introduced copper coins because they were cheaper to construct compared to silver coins and because years' worth of war had devastated the treasury.
These boratynski coins initially became popular. However, later on, Burattini was accused of degrading the copper metal and earning profits from it.
The copper coins were not as valuable. In fact, during this period, one may only buy around two pairs of shoes with the whole hoard of 1,000 copper coins. Their worth is remarkably higher now, however, as they are historical artifacts.
The coin hoard will be turned over to specialists of the sumeun in Biala Podlaska. The specialists will conduct further investigations into the findings.
Kopciowski also announced that several fabric pieces and broken clay fragments were also spotted at the discovery site.
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