They were looking for a Roman road and found old coins worth half a million zlotys

The discoverers of the treasure are Sławomir and Szymon Milewski, a father and son team from the "Triglav" Historical and Research Association from Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki. They took part in the search organized jointly with the "Husaria" Polish Treasure Hunters Association.

Piotr Duda, an archaeologist from the "Triglav" association told the Polish Press Agency (PAP) that the discovered coins are exceptionally rare. "This is likely one of the largest treasures of this type ever found in Poland, and certainly in Mazovia. Over the last few years, deposits of coins from various historical periods have been discovered, but not from the 16th and 17th centuries. The historical value is indescribable, and the material value is estimated at around half a million zlotys," he added.

"We knew they were silver coins, and that they could be valuable, but as we started examining them, we were amazed. It’s simply incredible," he said.

Mateusz Sygacz and members of the "Husaria" Polish Treasure Hunters Association had been gathering information on the route of a trade road, which may date back to the Roman influence period. "That was the main purpose of the search, and the result surprised everyone," Duda noted.

The discoverers speculate on how such a treasure ended up near Pomiechówek.

"In 1655, there was a battle near Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki where the Swedish forces clashed with the Polish Crown armies of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The coins roughly date back to the time of the Thirty Years’ War, and they come primarily from Saxony, Brandenburg, and the Netherlands – present-day Benelux and Germany," Piotr Duda explained.

He believes it’s possible that this treasure was hidden by someone involved in the Thirty Years’ War, who later participated in the 1655 battle. Duda also reminded that both sides of the battle included mercenaries, primarily German. Another theory is that a wealthy merchant buried his fortune for fear of theft. "There was once an inn nearby, and perhaps something happened that prevented him from retrieving his deposit. Many possibilities exist, but these are just our assumptions," he emphasized.

The treasure will be handed over to the Mazovian Conservator of Monuments. "We would like it to stay with us, at the Museum of the September Campaign and Modlin Fortress," said one of the searchers.

The "Husaria" Polish Treasure Hunters Association said on social media that one of the coins is a thaler of Sigismund III Vasa from 1630, minted in Toruń, with the minter’s initials indicating a very rare variant of this coin. In March 2023, an identical but much more worn coin sold at auction for over 86,000 zlotys.

"Also noteworthy is a 1623 thaler of John II from the Duchy of Palatinate. This coin was minted for only two years, with a different design each year, making it difficult to find in numismatic catalogs, let alone appraise. The condition of the remaining coins is outstanding," the association posted.

The treasure includes (based on preliminary identification – some coins were so rare that they couldn’t be definitively identified as they are absent from catalogs): 1 thaler from 1621 – Tyrol (County of Tyrol period, 1564-1666), 1 patagon of Albert and Isabella – year undetermined (1616-1621 period) – Spanish Netherlands, 1 patagon of Albert and Isabella – same period but a different coin, 1 thaler of Frederick William I from 1641 (Brandenburg-Prussia), 1 additional patagon similar to the previous one but a different coin, 1 thaler of John II from 1623 – Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, 1 thaler of Leopold V from 1620, 1 thaler of Frederick I of Austria – year undetermined (1619-1632 period), 1 thaler of Rudolf II from 1604, minted in Austria, 1 thaler of John George I from 1624, Saxony, Dresden mint, 1 thaler of John George I from 1612, Saxony, Dresden mint, 1 patagon of Philip IV from 1633, Spanish Netherlands, 1 patagon of Philip IV from 1631, Spanish Netherlands, 1 patagon of Philip IV from 1638, Spanish Netherlands, 1 patagon of Philip IV from 1632, also Spanish Netherlands, and finally 1 patagon of Philip IV from 16*3, Spanish Netherlands (third digit of the year illegible), and the highlight of the entire deposit – a thaler of Sigismund III Vasa from 1630 minted in Toruń.