Secret JACKPOT buried due to fear of Hitler’s Nazi regime unearthed in…., the treasure is worth Rs 855 crore!

The Traveller Collection, which contains coins collected from over 100 countries across the world, carries an element of mystery as the inheritor of this historical treasure has chosen anonymity.

The Traveller Collection, one of the most valuable coin collections in history, is set to be auctioned by Numismatica Ars Classica. But beyond the hefty price tag of $100 million (Rs 855 crore), the 15,000 strong collection of rare coins has a remarkable story that provides a sneak peek into centuries of history.

Let us delve into the amazing history of this rare coin collection:

Who assembled the Traveller Collection?

The Traveller Collection, which contains coins collected from over 100 countries across the world, carries an element of mystery as the inheritor of this historical treasure has chosen anonymity. However, the consignee Numismatica Ars Classica (NAC), has provided some details into the origins of the collector.

According to the NAC, following the Wall Street Crash of 1929, a young man in the 1930s who was the heir to European family business, sought out alternate means for storing wealth. At first, the man began converting his fortune into gold bullion, but later became obsessed with collection rare coins.

Throughout the 1930s, the original collector and his wife travelled across Europe and Americas, collecting rare coins along the way, in a sort of “extended honeymoon”, and the collection labelled as the Traveller Collection by the coin firm, Numismatica Ars Classica.

Buried for 50 years

According to the story, the during World War II, the collector became fearful, and consequently enclosed his gold and silver coins in cigar boxes, and buried them in his garden, The man died of a heart attack, shortly after Adolf Hitler’s Nazi forces invaded Europe, essentially taking the secret of the collection to his grave, with his wife being the only other person who knew about the location of buried treasure.

However, the woman chose to keep the location a secret until the mid-1990s, and thus the Traveller Collection remained undiscovered for over half a century.

Ultimately, after nearly five decades, she sought help from NAC to unearth the buried treasure, but it took until 2022 for the collection to be unveiled to the world.

Arturo Russo, the director of NAC, termed it as a “landmark in the history of numismatics”. “The catalogues of the Traveller Collection will serve as an important reference for the future collectors and scholars,” he said.

Rare coins in the Traveller Collection

Some of the most valuable coins that are part of the Traveller Collection include a 100 dukat gold coin minted by Ferdinand III, King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, in 1629. Weighing at 348.5 grams, the dukat gold coin is regarded as the largest gold coin in Europe.

The collection also includes a rare set of five Toman coins minted in Tehran and Isfahan in the 18th and 19th centuries by Agha Mohammad Khan of the Qajar Empire.

Given the size and value of the collection, the NAC has planned a four-year auction series comprising 15 separate auctions. The first auction will be held on May 20 this year, where British coins and medallions will be showcased and auctioned.