Forgotten Treasure: Library Janitor Discovers Silver Coin Cache
A curious library caretaker in the Bavarian city of Passau has discovered a treasure trove of ancient silver coins and medals that went overlooked for more than two centuries. The surprise find is reportedly worth as much as six figures.
Janitor Tanja Höls had often passed by an unassuming wooden box stowed away in an archive in Passau's historic state library, but it wasn't until about two weeks ago that curiosity got the best of her and she decided to take a look inside.
What she found were dozens of coins, most of them made of silver. "I had no idea that I'd found a treasure," the 43-year-old told. But when she told the head of the library in the Bavarian city what she had seen, he soon realized their value.
"This find is a real bonanza," Markus Wennerhold said, adding that it happened to coincide with preparations for the library's 400th anniversary.
The library believes that the collection of 172 well-preserved coins likely belonged to Passau's prince-bishops. They were hidden there around 1803 during Germany's secularization, when such church assets were transferred to the state. They may have wanted to keep them out of the hands of tax officials.
