409 gold coins buried for 100 years found beneath the remains of a destroyed home; mystery owner still unknown
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When were gold coins discovered?
According to information obtained, gold coins were discovered during rescue excavations carried out before a construction project in the Tver region. These coins, hidden inside a ‘kandyushka’, date from 1848 to 1911 and were mainly minted during the monetary reform of 1897.
The coins were found buried under stone foundations. The excavation was carried out on Sadovaya Street, one of the oldest areas of the city. While dismantling part of the structure, archaeologists uncovered fragments of a ceramic vessel hidden under the stones.
“Gold coins fell out of the broken pottery during the foundation removal work. The pottery was a jar made of clay with a handle and a brown-yellow glaze, known as kandyushka, according to ethnographic sources,” a translated statement from the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences said.
Who owns these gold coins?
The coins were found in a broken pot under the stone foundation of a wooden house that was destroyed during World War II and later rebuilt. According to the Times of India report, experts believe that these coins were hidden during the turmoil of the 1917 Russian revolution. No one knows who owned this enormous fortune, although historians have analyzed the tax records and church records of 24 families who once lived nearby.
What was in the pot?
According to Archeology Magazine, the total nominal value of the collection is 4,070 rubles. In 1917, this was a large sum, equivalent to over $530,000 in today’s gold value by raw weight.
“The total value of the coins in the hoard is 4,070 gold rubles. The hoard was probably hidden during or after the revolutionary events of 1917. It seems that the owner never returned to retrieve it,” researchers said.
The hoard was discovered between 1848 and 1911, from Nicholas I to Nicholas II. It contains 409 gold coins covering the periods up to Nicholas II. Most are 10-ruble coins, which were widely used in the last decades of the Russian Empire. The report stated that there were 10 coins of 5 rubles, 2 coins of 7.5 rubles, 387 coins of 10 rubles and 10 coins of 15 rubles in the treasury. The newest coin is from 1911, and the timeline shows that the treasure was buried just a few years before the 1917 Revolution. Many people at the time hid their savings to protect them from theft or confiscation.
Mystery arising from missing records
The owner’s identity is unknown. Records show that 24 families, including priests, merchants, artisans and clerks, lived on the street between 1914 and 1921. But these records are difficult to match with modern-day locations, limiting further clues.
Researchers classify the discovery as a “return hoard” and state that it was buried for later recovery. Due to the turmoil of the time, this probably never happened. After preservation and analysis, the coins are expected to be exhibited at the All-Russian Historical and Ethnographic Museum in Torzhok.
(With TOI entries)
