The Hoard of Solidi from Karsibór in Western Pomerania
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Chapter 16 The Hoard of Solidi from Karsibór in Western Pomerania Anna Zapolska 1 Discovery and Subsequent Fate The hoard of solidi found at Karsibór1 on the island of Usedom (Fig. 16.1), on the west bank of the River Świna, is a rather perplexing find. The coins were scattered (at the time of discovery, and later), and reported on in a series of laconic notes that were published in a chaotic manner, all of which makes the recognition of its structure and history very hard.2 However, even if recon- structing its original composition is no longer possible, the written refer- ences to the coins that were recovered and recorded are sufficient for a number of conclusions. In the 1860s the Blätter für Münzfreunde3 reported briefly the discovery of a larger number of Arabic and “gold Greek coins”, some of them found on the island of Usedom. Reported at the time as having been sold to “Jewish dealers” and to blacksmiths and goldsmiths, the coins ended up, “without exception”, in the melting pot. The “gold Greek coins” may be identified as solidi issued by the eastern mint at Constantinople. The approximate number of coins which were sold is unknown – according to the reports there were “so many pounds of silver coins” and single gold coins. Nevertheless, using the informa- tion found in some of the more detailed reports we can recover the composi- tion of the Karsibór hoard, at least in part. The earliest solidi known from the written references came to light in 1864 in a potato field lying between the 1 Eight out of at least twenty-two coins survive at present in the National Museum in Szczecin (MNS/A/22203); see Fig. 16.1. 2 A validation surface survey made at Karsibór in 2012 within the Migration Period between Odra and Vistula Project failed to identify the exact site of the discovery of the hoard. Today, much of this area is a nature reserve (an Important Bird Area). 3 Seit langen Jahren sind auf der Insel Usedom und in der Nähe alte Gold- und Silbermünzen gefunden worden. Dieselben wanderten aber ohne Ausnahme in den Schmelztiegel und nur das Gerücht, dass hier oder da so und so viele Pfund arabischer Silbermünzen, und so und so viele Stück griechischer Goldmünzen an diesen oder jenen Juden oder Goldschmied verkauft worden seien; see Anon. 1865, 7–8. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2020 | doi:10.1163/9789004422421_018 The Hoard of Solidi from Karsibór in Western Pomerania 543 Figure 16.1 Coins from Karsibór now in the National Museum in Szczecin Photo G. Solecki, A. Piętak bank of the Świna and the lagoon,4 dug up by farmers harvesting potatoes. The exact location of the potato field is unknown. According to the records, it used to be woodland. The coins are said to have rested “about a foot deep” in the ground. According to a report submitted by a lawyer of Świnoujście (then Swinemünde), a Mr. Ehrhart, in the autumn of 1864 five gold coins were discov- ered (one solidus each of Honorius, Theodosius II and Leo I, and two solidi of 4 (…) für die Goldmünzen dagegen Caseburg auf Usedom, zwischen Swine und dem Haff belegen; see Anon. 1865, 7..