The treasure was discovered in 1799 in a town called Nagyszentmiklós (today Sânnicolau Mare, western Romania) in the region of Banat, which was at that time included in the Habsburg Empire. Nowadays, the region is divided among several countries – Hungary, Romania and Serbia.
The history of discovery is intriguing and full of continuing uncertainties and questions. It was encountered in a vineyard by a farmer named Neza Vuin when he was digging. Whether and how long the vessels of the treasure had been suspended on his courtyard wall before he tried to sell them, and what was the initial number of vessels remains unclear. The names of two local tradesmen, Markó Dimitrievics and Trandaphil Pandovics, the goldsmith István Jankovich and the trader Naum Nitta are involved in the story while trying to sell the vessels illegally, being subjected to judicial interrogations and confiscations.
Ultimately, 23 whole vessels reached the imperial collection in Vienna.
