Cache of 14th-Century Coins Discovered in Czech Republic

PLZEŇ, CZECH REPUBLIC—Radio Prague International reports that hundreds of fourteenth-century coins were discovered in the western Czech Republic, near the Kladruby Monastery, by a couple out for a walk. “As they were walking through the forest, they spotted a few coins, two made of gold and one of silver, lying on the ground,” explained archaeologist Milan Metlička of the Museum of West Bohemia. “They were probably dug up by some forest animals, most likely by wild pigs.” The couple then pulled up a large stone in the ground, found the coin cache, and alerted authorities. The coins include gold ducats bearing the image of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, Albrecht of Austria, and Rupert of the Palatinate; ducats from the Hanseatic city of Lübeck; more than 300 silver groschen minted in Bohemia; and groschen bearing the image of John of Bohemia, the Duke of Luxembourg. Metlička said the monastery was located on a medieval trade route that connected Prague and Nuremberg, although researchers do not know why the coins might have been hidden. To read about a cache of coins found in France that depict some of the Holy Roman Empire's power brokers, go to "A Catalog of Princes."