Two hikers in the Czech Republic discovered a century-old treasure worth a massive USD 340,000 at the foothills of the Podkrkonosí Mountains in February 2025. They reportedly found 598 gold coins, jewellery and bags of tobacco hidden in a forest. The coins had been buried a century ago.

Experts believe that those coins were minted sometime in the early 19th Century and probably buried sometime after 1921 for reasons unknown. The treasure from France, Belgium, the Ottoman Empire and ancient Austria-Hungary were kept inside two metal boxes. While the first metal box contained 600 gold coins, wrapped in thin fabric in 11 different stacks, from around Europe; the second box contained 10 bracelets, 16 cigarette cases, a compact, a comb and a chain.

Although the two hikers discovered the treasure in February (2025), the Museum of Eastern Bohemia in the Czech city of Hradec Králové confirmed the news in the first week of May. Miroslav Novak, the head of the Archaeological Department of the museum, has claimed that 598 of those coins have a value of about USD 340,000. Initial analysis of small markings on the coins suggests that they were made for use in the erstwhile Yugoslavia, he added.

For his part, Vojtěch Brádle, the coin expert of the Museum of Eastern Bohemia, has stressed that while some of the coins were known to the Czech Republic at the time, others might have been from the Balkans. He revealed that the newest of the coins was dated 1921. “The treasure was hidden in the ground for over a hundred years. What is certain is that in 1921, at least part of these coins could not have been on our territory. They must have still been in the Balkans at that time,” Brádle told the press.

Currently, experts are trying to determine why the treasure was buried at the foothills of the Podkrkonosí Mountains. Some believe that the Nazis abandoned the treasure while retreating after being defeated by the Soviet forces at the end of the Second World War. Petr Grulich, the Director of the Museum of Eastern Bohemia, is of the opinion that Nazi soldiers had stolen the gold from individuals during the Second World War and buried the treasure after they were forced to retreat, in hopes of being able to come back and retrieve it. He stated: “It is difficult to say whether this is the gold of a Czech who had to leave the occupied territory after the Nazi invasion of 1938 (or) the gold of a German who feared displacement after 1945. It could also be stolen goods from an antique shop, but we are not inclined to this option.“

In the 19th Century, it was a common practice to bury valuable items in secret locations. However, with so much turmoil taking place at the time when those items were made or minted and in the years after, it is not clear what caused the owner of the fortune to bury her/his valuables.

Interestingly, the two hikers who discovered the treasure would receive about 10% (or USD 34,000) of the total value of the treasure! As per the Czech law, when rare items are found within the country, those who find them are entitled to a reward of 10% of the total value of those items.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das