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Un curios bibliotecar îngrijitor în oraşul bavarez Passau a descoperit un tezaur de monede de argint vechi şi medalii care au fost trecute cu vederea pentru mai mult de două secole.
Surpriza găsi este relatărilor valoare la fel de mult de şase cifre. Portar Höls Tanja a avut de multe ori trecut printr-o cutie de lemn modest depozitate deplasare într-o arhivă în bibliotecă Passau de stat istoric, dar nu a fost până la aproximativ două săptămâni în urmă că curiozitate am mai bun din ei şi ea a fost decisă uitam inauntru.
Ceea ce ea, au fost descoperite zeci de monede, cele mai multe dintre ele realizate din argint. "Nu am avut nici o idee ca am găsit o comoară," 43 de ani, a declarat agenţiei de ştiri germană DAPD miercuri. Dar când ea a spus şeful bibliotecii în oraşul bavarez ceea ce văzuse, si-a dat seama imediat valoarea lor.
"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. Wennerhold suspects that 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.
Old Furniture and a Stuffed Crocodile
Dating back from the years between the Roman Empire and Napoleon's rule, initial Internet research has revealed that the coins are worth a "low six-figure sum," Wennerhold said. Experts must now determine their exact value. The most valuable pieces will likely turn out to be decorative medals from the Baroque era, Wennerhold estimated.
The coins were probably forgotten because their value was underestimated by past library workers, Wennerhold told DAPD. "None of the current workers here knew that these coins existed," he said.
Library janitor Höls said she frequently goes to the fourth-floor archive -- where old furniture and even a stuffed crocodile are also stored -- in order to retrieve books for library patrons. The wooden box containing the coins was even periodically dusted by library employees without an inkling as to what was inside, Wennerhold said.
This week the Passau state library plans to release photos of each coin on its homepage. Next year they will be put on display as part of the library's anniversary celebration. Founded in 1612 as part of a Jesuit college, the library claims to be home to one of the oldest book collections in Germany.
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 By SPIEGEL | ABC News – |
