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The Silver Treasure - Hidden for 300 years

In Merchant Langkilde’s yard, a large coin hoard was discovered in 1987, consisting of more than 2,100 coins with a total weight of around 32 kg. The hoard had an estimated value of about 1,500 dalers — a fortune so great that its owner could have bought two large properties in the very centre of Køge. The hoard was buried after 1673, as indicated by the mint marks on the coins.

It is believed that the owner of the property, the merchant Jens Falch, buried the hoard to protect his wealth. This may have been due to generally uncertain times, and it was likely quite sensible to hide some money away for hard times. The merchant died in 1705, never retrieving his treasure.

See the silver treasure at Køge Museum

The Silver Treasure – Found by Chance

It didn’t begin as an excavation — just a small trench for an electric cable, where two electricians struck something hard in the soil in 1987. Silver coins — many more than anyone first imagined. Here lay a treasure untouched for more than 300 years. The coins date primarily from the 1600s and include something highly unusual: several hundred coins were completely new, mint-fresh, never circulated.

There are many stories about why it was hidden — and why it was never dug up again. Perhaps the merchant never managed to tell his descendants about it. The silver lay concealed for centuries while life carried on above. The treasure reminds us that people, both then and now, hide things away when the future feels uncertain.

 

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