A Polish group searching for lost treasure has discovered a collection of coins that may have belonged to a notorious early 18th-century con artist.

Legend has it that the fraudster, Antoni Jaczewicz, built a hermitage in the mountains, where he would trick people into thinking he had religious healing powers for money.

The Swietokrzyska Exploration Group originally found the coins using metal detectors in south-central Poland's Jeleniowskie mountain range in 2022, according to a Facebook post from the Provincial Office for the Protection of Monuments in Kielce.

According to a statement, the group waited almost two years to announce the findings, and can now confirm the true story of the legend.

The Swietokrzyska Exploration Group found multiple coins in the mountain range, including a 1648 Hamburg gold ducat featuring the Madonna and child. The ducat is the cherry on top of the discoveries so far, per the group's statement.

The artifact had a small hole through it, which the group believes means someone wore it as a medallion.

The team has handed over the coins to the Historical and Archaeological Museum in Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski. They have not disclosed the number of coins found so far and research is ongoing.

To read the complete article, see:
Do These Coins Belong to a Legendary 18th-Century Polish Fraudster?(https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/do-these-coins-belong-to-a-legendary-18th-century-polish-fraudster-180984417/)