Coins, medals and chain - Kosice gold treasure
Photo © ru.infoglobe.cz
The Košice gold treasure was discovered on August 24, 1935, during construction works in building No. 68 on the Main Street in Kosice. It is interesting not only for its scale. But also by the fact that, despite the desire of the discoverers to take at least a couple of "gold" as a trophy, they managed to keep it intact and without damage.
The treasure consists of 2,920 gold coins, three gold medals and a Renaissance gold chain 2.14 meters long. The treasure was in a chased copper box with engravings depicting animals, and its total weight was 11.5 kilograms.
Based on the dating of the latest coins (Leopold I), it was assumed that it was placed, or rather hidden after about 1679, in the building where Spissky Chamber was located. The reason for storage was prosaic. The rich owner was afraid of confiscation by Imrich Tekeli and his followers, who occupied Kosice during the anti-Habsburg uprising.
After the discovery, the treasure was placed in the Slovak Local History Museum in Bratislava, and then in the Central State Treasury in Prague. In 1941-1942 Numismatist Emanuela Nogueilova-Pratrova worked on it in the National Museum in Prague.
The fate of the treasure was also influenced by the Second World War, when the Slovak Republic, the Hungarian Kingdom and the Third Reich became interested in it, so they hid it in an unknown place (supposedly outside of Prague).
In 1953, his first public exhibition was held in Prague, in 1956 the treasure returned to Kosice, but only as part of the exhibition. And since the East-Slovakian museum did not have suitable premises for its permanent storage, in 1969 the construction of a massive and spacious safe began in the underground part of the main building of the museum. After its completion in 1970, a permanent exhibition was opened to the public.
Interestingly, the treasure journey is not over yet. Since 2009, the Košice gold treasure has moved around the cities: Bratislava, Prague, Budapest, Krakow and Ostrava. Since 2013, he is again in Kosice.
