Kisné Cseh Julianna – Somorjai József szerk.: Komárom – Esztergom Megyei Múzeumok Közleményei 5. (Tata, 1997)
Gedai István: The Esztergom–Szamárhegy (Donkeyhill) thaler find
The Esztergom-Szamárhagy thaler find István Gedai In 1973 during earthwork a discovery of treasure was found, consisting of 556 thalers, 10 Polish halfpennies, 3 Turkish gold coins, 1 denarius and some XVI. century rings and knobs in Szamárhegy nearby Esztergom. Since the closing year of the find is 1593 it is obvious that we connect the hiding of the treasure with the siege of Esztergom in 1594. The territory of Hungary was a continuous battlefield during the XVI-XVII. centuries. The central part of the country was occupied by the Türkisch Empire, willing to conquer Europe, and surrounding it a Hungarian defence line was formed leading to a century long static warfare. This situation always gave cause for hiding treasure, which are the coming up finds nowadays. However finds with big quantity of thalers are very rare. More than 100 thaler finds were found only in Fortuna Str. Buda (140 pieces), Pálmonostor (150 pieces), Balatonfőkajár (273 pieces) and Malajdok (339). Consequently the 556 pieces of the find in Esztergom is the most significant in the country. Only 12,1 % of the find consist of Hungarian thalers, the rest is foreign. The thalers, made in 60 minting towns, apart from the Tyrolese came from CentralGerman, Netherlander and Swiss mints. The big number of the Tyrolese thalers (199 pieces = 35,9 %) is not uncommon, since the financial aids for the Turkish wars came in Tyrolese thalers, this is a frequent component of the period finds. Its considerable quantity in the Esztergom find is a typical rate. The 556 thalers of the Esztergom find improved our knowledge in new variations of Tyrolese and Saxon thalers, although it did't have new types. The Netherlander countersigned thaler from Aachen is also significant, because from 1568 it has been unknown. The Esztergom find is one of the most significant one of its period, not only historical, but of economic history and numismatic point of view as well. 488
