A stash of gold and treasure worth more than $ 340,000 has actually been found by 2 hikers in the Czech Republic, and might have been concealed by individuals leaving persecution throughout World War II.

The chest, a collection that consists of gold coins, bracelets and snuff boxes, weighs approximately 15 pounds(6.8 kgs) and was discovered inside 2 containers in a stone mound in a wood on Zvičina Hill, situated in the foothills of the Krkonoše Mountains near the Polish border.

The 598 coins discovered within the very first box cover a broad historic duration– dating from 1808 to 1915 and consisting of currency from France, Belgium, the Ottoman Empire, Russia and previous Austria-Hungary. Numerous of the Austro-Hungarian coins were likewise marked with marks from being reissued in 1921 in the Serbian or Bosnia-Herzegovinian provinces of previous Yugoslavia.

“The treasure lay hidden in the ground for a little over a hundred years at most. In this particular case, however, the year 1915 is not decisive for determining the time when the hoard was found on the site,” Vojtěch Brádlea coin expert at the Museum of Eastern Bohemia in Hradec Králové, which is dealing with the chest, stated in an equated declaration. “This is due to the presence of several pieces with miniature marks (so-called contramarks), which could have been added after the First World War.”

The coin box was accompanied by a metal box discovered 3 feet (1 meter) away. This consisted of 10 bracelets, 16 cigarette cases, a bag made from great wire mesh, a chain, a comb and a powder compact. All of these products are made from a yellow metal, potentially a gold alloy.

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Professionals have yet to date or develop a company origin for the items, however the current contramark on the coin dates to 1921. This and the place of the discover near a previous border in between Czech and German settlements might imply the coins were stowed away as a last hope by individuals getting away persecution by Nazi Germany in 1938. (By the end of the Second World War, simply 14,000 of the area’s 118,000 Jewish population stayedthe others having actually left or been deported to the Theresienstadt Ghetto or to Auschwitz).

The coins might likewise have actually been cached after the war. In 1945, more than 3 million Germans were expelled from the Czech Republic for their viewed complicity in Nazi war criminal offenses.

“The list of potential reasons for which it was likely buried is fairly clear. It was the beginning of the war, the deportation of the Czech and Jewish populations, then the deportation of the Germans after the war, so there are several possibilities,” Miroslav Novákhead of archaeology at the Museum of Eastern Bohemia in Hradec Králové, informed Radio Prague International “There was also a monetary reform, which could have also been a reason.”

“It was clearly not about the nominal value of the coins, whether they were worth 5, 10, or 100 crowns. It’s not about what the coins could buy — that’s not what mattered,” he included. “It was deliberately hidden because it was precious metal.”

To get to the bottom of the secret, the museum is examining products discovered in the stockpile for more markings, together with searching archives for proof that might trace the stash to its previous owners.

Ben Turner is a U.K. based personnel author at Live Science. He covers physics and astronomy, to name a few subjects like tech and environment modification. He finished from University College London with a degree in particle physics before training as a reporter. When he’s not composing, Ben delights in checking out literature, playing the guitar and humiliating himself with chess.