An ancient bronze coin hoard weighing approximately 3kg has been discovered by locals, having turned green due to oxidation.
Michal Lotys unearthed the ancient coin hoard while using a metal detector to search for tractor parts on a farm near the village of Zaniówka in eastern Poland at the end of February, as reported by Live Science on March 8. The bronze coins were found in a broken siwak pot, a type of clay vessel with a handle and a narrow neck, buried beneath a field.
A clay pot containing a large quantity of coins buried on a farm in eastern Poland in the 17th century. (Photo: Paweł Ziemuk/WKZ Lublin)
Searching for buried artifacts without a permit is illegal in Poland. Therefore, Lotys contacted archaeologists in the nearby city of Lublin.
The team of experts visited the farm the next day to investigate. They found clear signs on the surface indicating that the treasure was intentionally buried, not accidentally lost.
The hoard includes approximately 1,000 bronze coins from Poland and Lithuania minted in the 17th century, according to Dariusz Kopciowski, the director of the Lublin Heritage Conservation Agency. The oxidation process over about 400 years underground has caused the bronze coins to turn green, with many coins corroded in layers. However, around 115 coins remain separate and intact. The entire hoard weighs about 3kg.
Examinations show that most of the coins were produced between 1663 and 1666 at mints in Warsaw (Poland), Vilnius (Lithuania), and Brest (Belarus). These coins are known as “boratynki”, named after Tito Livio Burattini, who managed the Kraków mint in the 17th century.
Boratynki were of low value and were used for everyday transactions. The entire hoard of 1,000 coins in Zaniówka would have bought “around two pairs of shoes” at that time. However, they are now worth much more as antiques.
Kopciowski stated that the hoard will be transferred to experts at a museum in the city of Biała Podlaska for further study. In addition to the coins, the research team also discovered fragments of the clay pot and several pieces of fabric from the same period at the site in Zaniówka.
