After arriving in Poland sometime around 1708, Antoni Jaczewicz soon developed a sinister reputation.

[–>

The country was being torn apart by the Great Northern War, accompanied by a deadly plague epidemic and desperation, according to a May 8 news release from the Wojewódzki Urząd Ochrony Zabytków w Kielcach, or the Provincial Office for the Protection of Monuments in Kielce.

[–>

Desperate for hope and salvation, people sought out those claiming to have a special religious power — enter Jaczewicz.

[–>

Claiming to have received supernatural healing powers from the Mother of God, Jaczewicz offered healing prayers to the sick and protection over those still untouched by the plague, officials said.

[–>

He lived in the wilderness of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains as a hermit, and soon the money he took from people for his services grew to a legendary hoard, according to the release.

[–>[–>

Other bandits were rumored to have sought out his refuge, and soon, Jaczewicz hired guards to rob pilgrims and protect his massive treasure.

[–>

Jaczewicz was captured by the bishop’s court, but then escaped from prison and resumed his work as a fraudster, officials said.

[–>

Four years later, he was captured again, and sentenced to life in prison in 1712, according to officials.

[–>

Jaczewicz became known as a legendary adventurer, hermit and fraud, but his rumored riches were never found — until now.

[–>

The Świętokrzyskie Exploration Group, a team of detectorists and history buffs who have been exploring the mountains since 2015, discovered some coins during a trek in the mountains in June 2022, group president Sebastian Grabowiec told Zwiadowca Historii.

[–>

One team member found the first pile, the largest, before others stumbled upon other groups of buried coins, Grabowiec told the outlet.

[–>

They found silver and gold coins from the 17th and 18th century, according to a May 10 news release from the Ministerstwo Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

[–>

[–>

The find included orts, sixes, patagoons, krajcars and kopecks, officials said, but the most fascinating coin was a gold Hamburg ducat from 1648 with the image of Madonna and Child that had a hole punched along its edge, likely worn as as medallion.

[–>

Wojciech Siudowski, from Wojewódzki Urząd Ochrony Zabytków w Kielcach, told Zwiadowca Historii that the coins show the legend of Jaczewicz may be more fact than fiction.

[–>

The variety of coins were likely part of fees taken by the self-proclaimed healer, given as donations or votive offerings, or stolen from the local nobility, Siudowski told the outlet.

[–>

The coins were analyzed before their connection to Jaczewicz was confirmed, the outlet reported.

[–>

Preservation of the coins is scheduled for this year, officials said, and exploration of the discovery area will continue as more hoards may be buried nearby.

[–>

The Świętokrzyskie Mountains, also called the Holy Cross Mountains, are a mountain range in central Poland outside the city of Kielce, about a 110-mile drive south from Warsaw.

[–>

Google Translate was used to translate the news release from the Ministerstwo Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego and the article from Zwiadowca Historii. Facebook translate was used to translate the news release from the Wojewódzki Urząd Ochrony Zabytków w Kielcach.

[–>[–>[–>[–>

Ta historia została pierwotnie opublikowana 10 maja 2024, 12:44.