A rare collection of bracteates – thin, single-sided medieval coins – has been dug up by a dog near the city of Wałbrzych in southwestern Poland.

Dog digs up huge haul of medieval coins in Poland

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2022-05-14 22:00:06

A rare collection of bracteates – thin, single-sided medieval coins – has been dug up by a dog near the city of Wałbrzych in southwestern Poland. Experts say the items – which date back to the 13th century – are the first such large discovery in over a hundred years.

The Wałbrzych branch of the Lower Silesia heritage protection office was alerted by the owner of the dog, named Kajtuś, about his rare find earlier this month. They immediately dispatched a team, including archaeologists from the University of Wrocław, to investigate.

“The person who contacted us was out walking the dog,” Anna Nowakowska-Ciuchera, the Wałbrzych heritage protection officer, told Gazeta Wyborcza. “Kajtuś started digging in the earth, and that was how he reached the jug with the coins.”

“The objects turned out to be medieval bracteates which were preserved in a damaged earthenware pot,” the Lower Silesia heritage protection office explained. Preliminary findings date the find to the first half of the 13th century and suggest that the coins were minted in Brandenburg, Saxony or Silesia.