Treasure hunters get 500 grand

The couple who found the coin treasure in the forest near Bořitov will receive 500 000 from the South Moravian Region. The reward was approved by the councillors. The region wants to thank the finders for their exemplary behaviour and for handing over the hoard to the museum.

The young couple discovered the ceramic container with the coins when they were out for a walk last September. They weren't specifically looking for treasure, and they didn't have a metal detector with them. In total, the jar contained 802 coins. It was located in an eroded hillside.

The amount of the reward has yet to be approved by the county council, but it's just a formality. "We are glad that the treasure did not end up on the black market, but in the Blansko Museum, where you can see it," said Jan Grolich.

The collection is completely dominated by Moravian coins of Prince and King Vratislav II, other Přemyslid princes and anonymous coins from the second half of the 11th and early 12th centuries. "The coins were stored in a preserved ceramic vessel and are in excellent condition," described the valuable Jiří Doležel from the Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in Brno, who has been professionally examining the coins.

The Blansko Museum did not have an archaeologist at the time the coins were found, so they approached the Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences in Brno with a request for professional support and cooperation.

The coins are currently on display at the Museum of Blansko, where they have an exhibition called Journey to Prehistory and a section dedicated to the Middle Ages. "We are wondering what deeds were associated with the acquisition of such a large fortune. Were they savings acquired by an honest person, or were they connected with evil and the deprivation of others?" wondered the couple who discovered the treasure.
They feel a fatal connection to the original owner, whatever may have preceded the hiding of the treasure. "And that's because after nine hundred years we brought his great fortune back into the light of day. It is our wish that the treasure will be displayed in the Museum of Blansko, because we have a strong relationship with Blansko and its history. Therefore, we will be happy if it remains a permanent reminder of those times," said the young couple who will receive their reward.

According to Dolezel, the coins were probably hidden at the end of the first or the beginning of the second decade of the twelfth century. From a cultural and historical point of view, the find is of incalculable value, as it is the first intact surviving It is the first intact find from this period and is of fundamental importance in terms of understanding the history of Moravian coinage.

Sources: www.blansko.cz, www.muzeum-blanenska.cz, www.jmk.cz