Ranger discovers treasure trove of silver coins in forest

A Polish forest ranger set out for a walk in the woods — and ended up discovering more than 6,000 silver coins.

The ranger, Boguslaw Szwichtenberg, found the coins hidden inside two clay pots, which he spotted in a wooded area near the Guzow village, in central Poland's Lubuskie province. Szwichtenberg alerted the Archaeological Museum of the Middle Oder to the find, and experts from the museum are restoring the coins.

Science in Poland reports that the coins date to the 16th and 17th centuries. The collection includes 5,370 small coins and 787 larger coins, Ancient Origins notes.

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Barbara Bielinis-Kopeć, the Lubuskie Provincial Conservator of Monuments, told Science in Poland that the treasure trove is "the greatest discovery of this kind" made in the province.