THE NETHERLANDS: In 16th-century Rotterdam, someone chose to save his money not in a mattress, but in his footwear. The well-preserved leather shoe, discovered in the excavation of a former City Hall site, contained almost 500 silver coins—about two months’ wages for a skilled craftsman at the time. The newest coin dates to 1592, during the Eighty Years' War for Dutch independence. The hoard may have been left in expectation of less turbulent times that the owner never lived to see. —Samir S. Patel