Krkonoše hikers, trekking in northeastern Czech Republic, unearthed a 3.7kg metal box filled with 598 gold coins and intricate jewelry, some dated to 1808, on a remote forest slope. Experts believe the hoard, now valued at $340,000, was hidden after 1921 as a safeguard during upheaval.

The box, packed with French, Belgian, and Ottoman gold coins plus tobacco pouches, stunned numismatists at the Museum of East Bohemia. Finders followed Czech law, reporting the stash for a possible ₹30 lakh ($36,145) reward—proof that hiking boots sometimes lead to buried fortunes, not just blisters.

Among the trove: coins spanning France, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire, buried likely in response to early 20th-century turmoil.