Mystery of Sevso Silver Treasure I

Is there such a thing as cursed silver? According to Spencer Compton, the 7th Marquess of Northampton, the Sevso Silver Treasure is certainly cursed. Over some years in the 1980s, Lord Northampton had purchased 14 exquisitely crafted late Roman silver vessels for about 10 million pounds. He had intended to sell the entire Sevso hoard together with the large copper cauldron in which they were found for a hefty profit. Scholars have estimated that the Sevso hoard is probably from 350AD to 450AD. Reportedly worth more than 100 million pounds in 2006, the Sevso treasure is now sitting in a secret vault in England, unexhibited, and unsold.

The items in Northampton's Sevso solid silver collection include splendid plates, basins, ewers, and caskets. On one of the hunting plates measuring close to 28 inches in diameter and weighing 22 pounds, there is an inscription in Latin which says: "May these O Sevso, yours for many ages be, Small vessels fit to serve your offspring worthily." Thus, the treasure came to be known as the Sevso treasure. Most likely, the items were gifts to Sevso who was believed to be a Roman of some importance although no concrete records were found about him. In the context of our world, these "vessels" are definitely not "small" and ironically, they are supposed to bring good tidings instead of ill fortune. Perhaps, the curse of the Sevso silver lies in the words "yours for many ages be" as all the vessels were meant to be in Sevso's possession, forever.

In 1983, a consortium representing Lord Northampton tried to sell 10 items of the treasure to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles for USD 10 million. Before the transaction could be realized, the export licenses from Lebanon (where the Sevso treasure was said to come from) were found to be fake. When the treasure was exhibited by Sotheby's in 1990 in New York for an proposed auction in Switzerland later, the governments of Lebanon, Croatia, and Hungary made legal ownership claims of the treasure. Lebanon dropped out after it was revealed that the export documents were falsified. In 1993, the New York Supreme Court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to show that the treasure belonged to Hungary or Croatia. Thus, it remained in Northhampton's possession. Thereafter, the Sevso treasure has been categorized as "unprovenanced antiquities" or "illicit antiquities" since the location of its discovery could not be validated.

Certainly, there are many more questions. Why did Lord Northampton attempt to sell 10 pieces of Sevso silver pieces to the Getty Museum for only USD 10 million when he paid 10 million pounds for all 14 pieces when he was told he could reap a threefold windfall? Are there more pieces? Why were there false Lebanese export documents? Who is Jozsef Sumegh? In the next installment, we will take a deeper look into the mystery of the Sevso treasure. Now, if you want to sell silver, here's a good silver buyer who will pay the best rates for silver.