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alloy detectorists have unearthed a gem trove of coins that may have belonged to a charlatan who hid in the deal of south - cardinal Poland after swindling people out of their money .

Throughout the tardy 17th century and early 18th century , Antoni Jaczewski , a " hermit , adventurer and faux net profit , " defrauded hoi polloi in Kielce , a metropolis near the Jeleniowskie mountain grasp , allot to a May 8 translatedFacebook postfrom the Provincial Office for the Protection of Monuments in Kielce .

A person holds two silver coins in their hand

Two of the many silver coins found by metal detectorists in the mountains of Poland.

According to Polish caption , Jaczewski would " convince citizenry of his healing powerfulness , " which he had received " from the female parent of God , who lived with him in the wild , " then lured them to his mountain liquidation , according to the assertion .

At the meter , Poland was at warfare and a plague was sweeping across the country , a bivalent hex that apparently convinced masses to travel to see Jaczewski . In rally for receiving his healing practices , citizens paid him in amber and silver coin .

Related:17th - century cache brimming with 1,000 coins discovered in Poland

The coin hoard, amounting to over $340,000, was possibly hidden by people fleeing political persecution.

tight onwards a few hundred twelvemonth to 2022 , and metal detectorists notice the cache . However , it would be another two years before authorisation announced the finding .

" We waited a recollective sentence to announce this find , almost two years , but it was worth it , today we can say that we have reassert the true story of a sure fable , " Sebastian Grabowiec , the president of the Świętokrzyska Exploration Group , which discovered the treasure , said in a translatedstatement .

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In addition to the coins , the group also key a gold Hamburg ducat from 1648 that contained the image of Madonna and child . Because the piece was pierced , expert recall that it may have been worn as a medallion , fit in to the Facebook post .

A selection of metal objects

Until " this clock time , Antoni was considered a fictitious person / myth / caption , " Sebastian Grabowiec , a metal detectorist who headed the geographic expedition grouping , told Live Science in an email . " By receive his treasure , we confirmed that such a person really survive . "

" I can only tell [ you ] that there [ are ] plenty of them , " he said . " We have coin from the conclusion of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries ; they are mostly made from Ag . "

A vessel decorated with two human-like faces (one is shown above).

A gold raven�s head with inset garnet eye and a flattened gold ring with triangular garnets sit on a black cloth on a table.

A man with light skin and dark hair and beard leans back in a wooden boat, rowing with oars into the sea

A reconstruction of a wrecked submarine

Right side view of a mummy with dark hair in a bowl cut. There are three black horizontal lines on the cheek.

Gold ring with gemstone against spotlight on black background.

an aerial image of the Great Wall of China on a foggy day

an image of a femur with a zoomed-in inset showing projectile impact marks

An image comparing the relative sizes of our solar system�s known dwarf planets, including the newly discovered 2017 OF201

an illustration showing a large disk of material around a star

a person holds a GLP-1 injector

an MRI scan of a brain

A photograph of two of Colossal�s genetically engineered wolves as pups.