Turkish Artifact Found at the Border of Nemesvámos

Silver coins of the Turkish period and a tin-lead alloy ring have been found on the outskirts of Nemesvámos in Veszprém County. At the presentation of the find, Regional Development Minister Tibor Navracsics said: as several times before, this time too, volunteers found the important piece, and the participation of civilians in the search for archaeological finds speeds up the start of investments.

The director of the Dezső Laczkó Museum, Brigitta Péterváry-Szanyi said that the find consists of 154 silver coins and a tin-lead alloy ring. The majority of the coins date back to the 16th century, with the earliest minted between 1501 and 1506 and the latest in 1592. Of the 154 coins, 150 were minted in the Kingdom of Hungary and four came from Poland. Most of the coins are intact.

The silver coins may have been placed in the ground in a pouch made of organic material, and no traces of this have been found, she said. The objects may have been hidden for fear of Turkish occupation during the 15-year war, she added.

As for the value of the artefact, the director said that in the Turkish era, a goose could be bought with this much money, so it was not particularly valuable. Today, the value of the coin is due to the fact that a significant quantity of coins was found at the same time, and it is also significant because it is unique in the collection of the Dezső Laczkó Museum as a Turkish artefact.

The silver ring, decorated with a tin-lead alloy, was also not of great value in its time, but is of interest to posterity because it is contemporary with the coins found and was probably important to its owner, who hid it.

Nemesvámos mayor Balázs Sövényházi pointed out that there were finds from the prehistoric and medieval periods in the area. The excavated treasures attract tourists, and the current treasure trove is also special because it was found by a Nemesvámos resident, he added.

Zoltán Krámli, the finder of the artefact, said that he had discovered the artefact with a metal detector after several hours of research in March last year, and that it took almost a year to process and restore the artefact.