10 Lei History of Gold - The Apahida Hoard

The Apahida hoard — actually three separate hoards discovered near Cluj-Napoca in 1889, 1968, and 1979 — represents one of the most significant assemblages of Migration Period goldwork found anywhere in Europe. The grave goods are attributed to Gepid royalty, likely fifth-century chieftains operating in the power vacuum left by Attila's death in 453 AD. Several pieces from the second and third discoveries remain in Romanian state collections, while portions of the first hoard ended up scattered across European museums following their nineteenth-century recovery.