The Ministry of Culture and the National Museum of Romanian History are to pay a reward of over EUR 32,000 to a man who found 47,000 Ottoman coins dating from the first half of the 15th century.

Iulian Enache found the coins in 2013, with a metal detector. It is the largest treasure ever found in Romania so far.

The Bucharest Court of Appeal ruled the decision via which the Ministry and the Museum are obliged to pay the Romanian a reward of EUR 32,425, reports local Stirileprotv.ro. The court ruled the decision in the case brought by Iulian Enache against the two institutions.

Soon after finding the rare coins in Golesti, Vrancea county, the man informed the authorities and gave them the coins voluntarily, said Ernest Oberländer-Târnoveanu, director of the National Museum of Romanian History.

“His gesture was appreciated by the Romanian Government, who wanted to encourage the voluntary surrender of discoveries, including those made with the metal detector, with the equivalent in RON of EUR 10,000,” he told local News.ro.

The identification and examination of the over 42,000 coins took more than two years. Experts from outside the Museum of History evaluated the coins, and determined that the reward should amount to over EUR 41,000, according to the museum director.

“Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture issued in April 2017 a normative act (Instruction No. 2) forbidding museums to pay the legal reward provided for by Law 182/2000 for those who discover and surrender treasures,” the director explained. He also said that, in fact, this Instruction No. 2 contains "illegal and unconstitutional" provisions, and thus he asked the Ministry of Culture to repeal it.

Iulian Enache opened the case against the Ministry of Culture and the National Museum of Romanian History in 2016. The court found that Enache acted in good faith and is entitled to a reward of around EUR 32,000 plus interest. However, the court decision is not final and can be appealed.

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Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com