On February 17th, 2010, a small part of the so-called Rejantzi hoard of coins was transported under increased security from Pernik Regional Museum of History to the National Museum of History.
The coins from the village of Rejantzi, Municipality of Breznik, have been unearthed in the fall of 1961 while plowing a field in the local co-operative farm. It was hidden in a large clay vessel and consisted of around 6000 gold and silver coins with a total weight of over 82 kg. The coins have been minted during the rule of the Macedonian kings Philip II (359 – 336 century BC) and Alexander III (336-323 century BC) and also the Paeonian rulers Lycceius (359/358 – 340 century BC) and Patraus (335 – 315 century BC). For the numismatics, the coins are of equal importance in value and information, as for example the famous gold treasure of Panagurishte is for Thracian archaeology.
Unfortunately, as it often happens in Balkan history, the coins were divided between the finders, their relatives and friends. Hundreds of coins ended up in private collections and auction houses in Western Europe and . Furthermore, due to the lack of a quick reaction on behalf of the museum specialists, a large number of the coins were melted in the “Goldsmith Industry” in Sofia. In 1969, two large parts of the Rejantzi coins were sold on two separate auctions in London and New York. Today, the remaining coins from the Rejantzi discovery are preserved in different museums, such as the Regional Museum of History in Pernik, the National Museum of History, the National Museum of Archaeology at the BulgarianAcademy of Science, and the museums in Vratza and Kustendil. In the last few years, probably the high value of the coins provoked a number of attempted robberies in some of the museums.
The discovery is of great importance for the study of Thracian history during the rule of the successors of Alexander III the Great and the Paeonians. The latter were a Balkan tribe mostly known to specialists. The Paeonians inhabited an area situated to the North of the Macedonians, to the West of the Thracians and to the East of the Illyrians. Its territories lied along the middle flow of AxiosRiver (present-day VardarRiver).
Hall 2 of the National Museum of History will display the coins, preserved until recently in the Regional Museum of History in Pernik.
The hoard of coins from Rejantzi will be at the National Museum of History during the next three years.