An exciting day for coin enthusiasts in India occurred this past July when earth digging was being conducted in order to construct a new road in the Chhattisgarh’s Kondagaon district. Imagine the worker’s surprise when a pot of gold was discovered that contained 57 gold coins, one silver coin and a gold earring!

The district collector Neelkanth Tekam said that Korkoti Sarpanch Nehrulal Baghel turned the coins over to him shortly after they were discovered. A woman laborer stumbled upon this treasure while working.  It was only buried a few feet underground!

The coins are being thoroughly studied but first signs indicate they are from the 12th and 13th century.  “The inscriptions on the coins are in a script which was prevalent during the time of Yadav dynasty which ruled over Vidarbha (presently in Maharashtra),” says Tekham.

The belief in this country is that anyone that touches buried treasure will be cursed. The workers carefully upturned the pot but did not touch it and turned it in.

Other buried treasure has been discovered over the years while workers are going about their business of construction. In March of 2018, two workers in Holland discovered 462 silver coins and 12 gold coins in a medieval cooking pot. Most of these coins dated back to the 1470s and 1480s.

Don’t get ahead of yourself and switch to a career in construction because of this! Discoveries do occur but not everyday. Rather, if this interests you, consider becoming a coin collector and enjoy learning about a variety of old coins.