The hoard of gold and silver coins dating from the 17th century were unearthed by detectorists who, inspired by the legend of Antoni Jaczewicz, had decided to explore the mountain range.

Claiming to have the power of healing and protection gifted to him by the Virgin Mary who he said lived with him in a mountain hermitage, Jaczewicz often exploited desperate people looking to be cured of illness.

The con soon turned into a lucrative venture which became so profitable he hired armed guards and turned the hermitage into a mountain fortress.

Arrested and sent to trial in Kraków’ episcopal court, he managed to escape and return to his mountain retreat to continue the deception.

He was recaptured in 1712 and after being tried by the court of the Bishop of Kraków and was sentenced to life imprisonment in Częstochowa.

Sebastian Grabowiec, president of the Świętokrzyska Exploration Group which made the discovery, said: “We waited a long time to announce this find, almost two years, but it was worth it, today we can say that we have confirmed the true story of a certain legend.



“It was the largest and most impressive deposit, there were a lot of them, unfortunately we cannot talk about numbers yet because conservation works are still ongoing. and the search is still ongoing.

“The last find was Sławek Badowski's hit, a beautiful gold ducat from the city of Hamburg, which is like a cherry on the cake of the discoveries so far.”

The 1648 gold Hamburg ducat features a depiction of the Madonna and Child, which experts believe could have been used as a medallion.

Wojciech Siudowski from the Provincial Office for the Protection of Monuments in Kielce said: “The discoveries lead us to conclude that the story of the adventurer Jaczewicz may not be just a legend... ŚGE managed to locate a large collection of coins from the first half of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century.

“It seems that the coins may be part of the fees collected by the self-proclaimed hermit, donations or votive offerings, or perhaps also goods stolen from the local nobility.”

Often Anglicized to ‘Holy Cross Mountains’ after a small piece of wood from the Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified was said to have been held by a nearby Benedictine monastery, the mountains have long held religious significance.