A coin treasure discovered in a well in Salaj in 1978, consisting of 30 silver kreutzers, a widely circulated coin in the present territory of Romania during the 18th and 19th centuries, known at the time as ‘sfat,’ was accidentally found by a museum curator from Zalau in an art consignment shop in Bucharest, 40 years later.

Five years after the ‘return to its origins’ of the treasure, the entire story is being recalled for AGERPRES by the main protagonist in the recovery of the coins, museum curator Emanoil Pripon from the Zalau County Museum of History and Art.

‘On the evening of February 12, 2020, together with my colleague Szabo Attila, we were conducting research on ceramics produced in the pottery centre of Zalau, in Bucharest, at the National Museum of the Romanian Peasant. We were already at the end of our research stage and we thought to take our return tickets home. Walking from the accommodation to the North Station, at one point, we passed by an art consignment shop. Although it was already past closing time, I saw a light inside and went in. We first looked at the ceramics, exchanged a few words with the owner, and when we were leaving, jokingly, I asked about coins and numismatics. Very kindly, he immediately pulled out two binders from under the counter. He opened the first one and, to my surprise, I found a piece of paper that left me perplexed. It said lot 30 x 20 kreutzers, meaning a lot of 30 pieces of 20 kreutzers, a mini treasure found at the water mill in Simleu Silvaniei on August 19, 1979, in a leather bag, after the well was dried, entered into the possession of Buzdugan in 1980,’ Emanoil Pripon recounts.

According to him, the person who held the treasure before it was handed over to the consignment was none other than George Buzdugan, the general secretary of the Romanian Numismatic Society from 1953 to 1980. Among other things, he is also the author of the Romanian coin and banknote catalog, still valid today, more than 45 years after it was printed. In fact, Buzdugan passed away shortly after acquiring the treasure, which is why the coins ended up, through his heirs, at the consignment shop in Bucharest.

Knowing the historical value of the coins, the curator from Zalau took the necessary steps the very next morning to ensure the treasure would reach the Zalau County Museum of History and Art.

Emanoil Pripon underscores that the treasure consists of reference coins for a period that spans from the middle of the 18th century to the middle of the 19th century, circulating throughout Romania, even though it was a coin issued by the Habsburg Empire.

‘The treasure from Simleu is made up of 20 kreutzers. These are coins that certainly circulated in Transylvania but, interestingly, also in Wallachia and Moldavia. Because after 1830, through the organic regulation, it was established that the Dutch gold ducat and also this coin with a value of 20 kreutzers would represent the monetary standards in Wallachia and Moldavia. In fact, these coins were the only ones accepted for tax payments by the state treasury. And they were somehow present throughout Romania. After 1830, in Wallachia and Moldavia, this represented the monetary standard. Of course, other coins could also be used for payments. This was a period when the coin had intrinsic value. What mattered was the silver content. It had a stable silver content and was a reference coin. There were 30 coins in total. They (…) span over a period of about 80 years, somewhere in 1763 from Maria Theresa until 1840. In 1852, such coins were still being issued. However, these, due to their exact silver content, remained in circulation and we find them as treasure,’ explains the curator.

The widespread use of the coin led it to receive a popular name, known in the era as ‘sfat,’ from the German word ‘zwanzig’ – meaning twenty, according to the value inscribed on it. In Romanian currency, it was worth two lei and 10 bani.

‘In fact, the total value of the treasure is relatively modest, let’s say, about 600 kreutzers. However, what is interesting is what could have been purchased with this money at the time. It’s important to note that one of these coins, a ‘sfat’ or 20 kreutzers, was worth two lei and 10 bani. At the time, prices were expressed in lei, but payments were made in this coin. So, what could you buy with this amount? Practically, as I said, the value is 600 kreutzers. Well, in 1841, for example, a pig in Bucharest was sold for 63 lei. If we do the math, we come to the amount represented by our treasure. So, with this treasure, you could buy a pig. Or, you could buy three carts of wood, or you could pay a shopkeeper’s boy’s salary for six months,’ says Emanoil Pripon.

In addition to the story of the return of the silver kreutzer treasure to Salaj after 40 years, there are, of course, questions that remain unanswered. How did the coins end up in the well? Who discovered them and how did they end up in the possession of George Buzdugan?

Above all, from a historian’s perspective, what is important is the fact that the treasure has been ‘repatriated’ and is now part of the collection of the Zalau Museum of History and Art, where it can be admired by today’s visitors as well as by future generations.