The hoard was found in 1954 in the Hippodrome area of Thessaloniki. It consists of 13 silver European coins of the 16th and early 17th centuries: 1/16 scudo Nicolo da Ponte of Venice (1578-1585), 1 thaler Matthias II (1612-1619), 5 thalers of Archduke Ferdinandus (1564-1595), 1 8reales and 1 2reales Philippus III (1598-1621), 1/2 franc Henri IV (1589-1610), 2 3gros. Sigismundus III (1587-1632), 1 tallero Ferdinandus Medici (1587-1609), and must have been hidden around 1615. After the devaluation of the Ottoman white in 1585, the European powers that maintained trade relations with the Ottoman Empire flooded its markets with their coins. The first European coins with a strong presence in the European provinces of the Ottomans, already from the end of the 16th century, were thalers of the neighboring Habsburg Empire. European monetary issues enjoyed great esteem by the populations of the Greek area as reliable coins and were systematically hoarded, as the specific treasure from Thessaloniki shows.
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki is the most important city in Greece throughout the Ottoman period. After the arrival of the Jews in the city, from the end of the 15th century onwards, it will be the most important port and commercial center of the Aegean, to be replaced later by Smyrna. Its commercial importance is also shown by the fact that from the end of the 17th century, consulates of the most important European commercial powers, France, Venice, and later England and the Netherlands, were established here. Given the multinational character of the city, during the 18th century, its Greek element is strengthened by successive settlements from the Macedonian countryside and in the years preceding the revolution of 1821 it claims the first place in the city. The population of Thessaloniki at the beginning of the 20th century exceeded 100,000, and was approximately equal to that of Athens.