Nemanja's seal: Six times more expensive than at the beginning of April

According to the website of the auction house "Artemide Aste" in San Marino, the initial price of the seal of the great prefect Stefano Nemanja from the 12th century reached 6000 euros. The auction is scheduled for May 6 and 7, and the sale of Nemanja's seal is planned for another day.

At the beginning of April, when the "Serbian Medieval History" portal published the news about the auction, the starting price was 1000 euros.

With the information that the Historical Museum of Serbia will participate in the auction in order to return Nemanja's seal to Serbia, the request of the Ministry of Culture of Serbia was forwarded to potential collectors not to bid, so as not to raise the starting price. However, as said, the current price is six times higher.

How and when Nemanja's seal came out of the ground is unknown.

The seal of Stefan Nemanja is made of lead, weighs almost 21 grams, and has a diameter of 35 millimeters. On the obverse is the first martyr Saint Stefan, patron of the Nemanjić dynasty. He is dressed in the garb of a deacon, he is standing, and in his hands he holds an alms-giver and a lamp. On the reverse there is an inscription in the Greek language "Seal of Stefan the Great Prefect of Nemanja".

It was minted as early as 1166, when Nemanja became the great prefect.

Seals of Serbian medieval rulers are very rare and represent cultural and historical wealth. The National Museum of Serbia keeps two of Nemanja's seals, and one is in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.

In December last year, at the Leo Numismatik auction in Switzerland, Serbia did not buy the seal of Peter, ruler and archon of Serbia from the 11th century, even though it is currently the only and earliest material evidence, apart from written sources, on which the name Serbia is written.

S.Ć./Serbian medieval history

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