Two hikers discover a box containing hundreds of 19th-century gold coins

€303,000. That's the amount of loot discovered by two tourists while hiking in the northeastern Czech Republic last February. The two hikers were walking in the woods of Rtyně v Podkrkonoší when they discovered an old iron box containing hundreds of 19th-century gold coins, snuff boxes, and bracelets.

Although the box was discovered several weeks ago, this fairytale story was only recently revealed by the East Bohemian Museum, to whom the two hikers entrusted their find for examination. “When he opened it, I was speechless,” commented the East Bohemian Museum's chief archaeologist, Miroslav Novak, according to Presse Citron.

A loot of 340,000 dollars

Inside the box were 598 gold coins from various countries, dated from 1808 to 1915, as well as ten bracelets, a comb, and sixteen antique snuff boxes. The result: the loot, weighing approximately 7 kilos, is valued at nearly $340,000, or €303,000 .

But what was this old tin box doing there? And more importantly, why has no one ever come forward to retrieve it? The museum's archaeology experts have put forward a few hypotheses, which they will have to verify through further analysis. They believe the coins likely passed through Serbia in the 1920s and 1930s , a period when they were often used to make traditional Balkan necklaces and headdresses. The treasure could have been hidden during the region's annexation by Nazi Germany in the 1930s , by residents fleeing the country in the hope of one day returning to retrieve it.

Another hypothesis put forward is that the owners of the treasure may have been Germans who supported the Nazi regime and had left the country to escape possible prosecution for complicity in war crimes.

A regional museum wants to present the pieces to the public

“The list of possible reasons why he was probably buried is quite clear. It was at the beginning of the war, with the deportation of the Czech and Jewish populations, and then the Germans after the war. So there are several possibilities,” Miroslav Novák explained to Radio Prague International. “There was also a currency reform, which could also be a reason.”

In the meantime, the museum's curators are working meticulously to catalog the objects in preparation for a future public exhibition. As for the two hikers, they are not leaving empty-handed: according to Czech law, they can receive up to 10% of the treasure's value.