Vassil Avramov and his Collections 

Bissera Tomova

Vassil Avramov was born in 1863 in the town of Kalofer. He moved to Sofia rather early and with few short breaks spent the rest of his life there. In 1895 he graduated the Faculty of Law at St. Kliment Ohridski Sofia University.

His interest towards numisnatics was conceived by chance. It happened after a visit at the National Museum in Sofia which at that time was hosted by the old building of the University on Moskovska Street.

In 1894 V. Avramov bought bronze Greek and Roman coins from goldsmith"s workshops and offered them to the Museum. From this moment on he became a collaborator of the Numismatic Department of the Museum. Later on he decided to collect coins for himself and made his first collection. 

In 1896 V. Avramov moved to Yambol and worked there as a lawyer. It was there and then that he bought a great number of coins.

In 1900 the collection of V. Avramov consisted of 7000 coins dated to the Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Mediaeval and Late Mediaeval period. One of the most important features of this collection is the great number of coins struck on the Balkans. Avramov was the first collector who paid attention on the coins of the Ottoman and other sultans. 

In 1912 V. Avramov sold his numismatic collection to the National Museum of Archaeology and started gathering his second collection which in 1943 reached 3000 coins. The collection contained 1500 denarii and anioniniani from a hoard found near Devnya (Martianopol), Varna region, denarii of Emperor Didius Julianus, Pupienus, Didia Clara, etc. as well as a number of rare Hellenistic silver coins such as the tetradrachma struck in Odessos with the portrait of the Thracian god Darzalas, the protector of the city, wonderful tetradrachmas of King Lysimachus of Thrace, etc. Regretfully the greater part of V. Avramov"s second collection was exported from Bulgaria and sold by his inheritors to foreign collectors. The National Museum of Archaeology bought several pieces of V. Avramov"s collection in 1946.

The collector Vassil Avramov died in Sofia in 1946.

Източник:

Годишник на Националния археологически музей.

Том 11. С., 2007, 287-294.

Vasil Avramov"s Family Tree

Родословно дърво на Васил Аврамов от Калофер

Genealogy Table

Tsarevgrad Tarnov - Novo selo - Kalofer - Tsarigrad - Kalofer - Sofia

Царевград Търнов - Ново село - Калофер - Цариград - Калофер - София 

Името на ВАСИЛ АВРАМОВ, несправедливо заличено и потулено, очаква своето възкресение, за да събуди осакатената ни историческа памет и реанимира един голям калоферец и българин, дал съществен принос в изграждането на нашата правова държава и военна историография.

ВАСИЛ АВРАМОВ, за времето си един от най-издигнатите български правници, отличаващ се със завидна ерудиция и авторитет, посветил усилия в различни области. Неговото дело и място в обществено-политическия живот тепърва ще се преосмислят и оценяват безпристрастно.