BURGAS, BULGARIA—During excavations in the village of Rusokastro in southeastern Bulgaria, archaeologists discovered a 700-year-old silver coin depicting a seated Jesus on one side and, on the other side, an image of the Serbian king Stefan Uroš II Milutin (reigned 1282–1321) next to Saint Stephen, the first-century A.D. saint murdered for his beliefs. During Milutin’s reign, Rusokastro was the site of a fort at a time when the Serbian king greatly expanded his territory in southeastern Europe. According to a Live Science report, the depiction of the seated Jesus was likely intended to recall Venetian silver coins of the period—one of the medieval world’s most stable currencies—and to lend that sense of stability to the Serbian king’s currency as well. Excavators say that this is the first time this coin, which is commonly found further west, has been found in eastern Bulgaria. It provides evidence of the extension of the Kingdom of Serbia at the time when Milutin was one of the Europe’s most prominent monarchs and relied on local silver mining for the kingdom’s prosperity. To read more about the life and death of first-century A.D. Roman soldier stationed in Bulgaria, go to "A Dutiful Roman Soldier."