Thousands of Coins Unearthed in Hungary

News January 20, 2021

(© Ferenczy Museum)
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Hungary Medieval Coins
(© Ferenczy Museum)

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY—Live Science reports that Balázs Nagy of the Ferenczy Museum and a team of archaeologists and volunteers working with metal detectors discovered a cache of nearly 7,000 silver coins and four gold ones in a broken vessel on a hill in central Hungary. The vessel may have been broken by plowing. The oldest coin is Roman and dates to the reign of Lucius Verus, who was emperor from A.D. 161 to 169. The most recent coins date to the reign of Louis II, who ruled Hungary and Bohemia from A.D. 1516 to 1526. The four gold coins, hidden in the vessel’s fabric lining, were minted in Hungary between 1458 and 1490, during the reign of King Matthias I. The researchers suggest the coins may have been buried during the Ottoman attack in 1526, which ended the Hungarian monarchy. For more on Hungarian archaeology, go to "Letter from Hungary: The Search for the Sultan's Tomb."

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