19-th century copper coins discovered at Vinné Castle

A UNIQUE treasure of copper coins was accidentally discovered during archaeological research at the medieval castle in the municipality of Vinné. The coins had been buried under three metres of debris since about middle of the 19th century.

(Source: TASR)

A UNIQUE treasure of copper coins was accidentally discovered during archaeological research at the medieval castle in the municipality of Vinné. The coins had been buried under three metres of debris since about middle of the 19th century.

“We found 1,909 coins worth one Kreutzer and one worth four Kreutzer, which were deposited in an intact mug,” head of the research project, Peter Bednár of the Slovak Archaeological Institute, told the TASR newswire. “They date back to 1858 to 1860 and calculated for the period worth, they are equal to four months’ salaries of a chambermaid or a servant.”

He added that they found the coins last summer but did not inform the public out of fear of attracting treasure hunters to the site.

The origin of the coins is, like many similar findings in Slovakia, mysterious.

“It is worth mentioning that it was buried about 150 years after the castle was deserted. Someone deposited it there with the idea that this was a safe place – but never returned to retrieve it,” Bednár added. He said that historians will focus on regional history in connection with this finding, and try to determine whether there was a thief operating here during the 19th century.

The Vinné Castle offered several other artefacts in addition to the coins, like a colourful Renaissance tile, remnants of decorative parts of the castle’s facade, arrowheads, metal keys and pottery fragments.

“There are findings with enormous information value about the castle’s history from before the 15th century,” Bednár explained. “We found that beneath the debris, there are remnants of a still older castle.”

The archaeological research will continue this year, too, and it will involve dozens of local unemployed people as part of a government programme.

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