Mysterious 400-year-old cache of ancient treasure found hidden crammed inside leg of STATUE in church
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A HUGE "fortune” of 400-year-old treasure has been found crammed inside the leg of a statue in a church. Restoration workers found four "bulging" bags of golden coins concealed inside a stone cavity when they were working on a famous Gothic church in Germany.
![[400-year-old gold coins found hidden in a statue.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/400-year-old-cache-treasure-963939212.jpg?strip=all&w=803)
Historians think the bounty was hidden from Swedish looters who frequently plundered the region during the Thirty Years' War in the 17th century. The trove of 816 coins was first uncovered at St Andrews Church in Eisleben, central-east Germany, in 2022, but kept under wraps until recently.
![[St. Andreas Church in Eisleben, Germany, where Martin Luther delivered his last sermons.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/e605cc02-ae99-49cb-8efa-be8983475ea3.jpg?strip=all&w=707)
The church is famous for being the place where Martin Luther, a significant figure in the Protestant reformation, delivered his last sermons in 1546. The coins were stashed around 100 years later by someone who needed to hide their treasure. They pushed four “bulging purses” into a cavity in the leg of a sandstone statue that was part of a grave for a count and countess, Dräger said.
![[Map showing the location of St Andrew's Church in Germany, where gold coins were found hidden in a statue.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/VP-15_01-CHURCH_MAP-v2.jpg?strip=all&w=810)
The hoard included a rare “golden angel” coin, gold ducats, various silver coins and hundreds of ancient pennies. Dräger said: "It is nothing short of a miracle that the treasure did not come to light sooner.”. He explained it will take time for coin experts to assess the stash’s value, but "at the moment, I can only say that it is a huge fortune.
![[Elaborate church monument with sculpted figures and coats of arms.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/400-year-old-cache-treasure-963939208.jpg?strip=all&w=621)
“It is much more than a craftsman could earn in a year," Dräger said. The most valuable coins were wrapped in paper with labels indicating they belonged to the church treasury. But Dräger says they were not the result of the church’s Sunday collections.
![[A statue of Martin Luther, Protestant reformer, who delivered his final sermons at the church]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/luther.avif?strip=all&w=940)
