The Customs Service Museum was founded on 28 November 2007 and is part of the World Customs Museum Community. In all these years, the Museum's collection has grown exponentially, comprising a wide variety of objects in the fields of archeology, ethnology, philately, history, numismatics, technology, heraldry, etc.
Petru Costin, founder of the Museum, is an employee of the Customs Service who in 2011 became the holder of the Guinness record for the largest collection of horseshoes in the world – 3,200 pieces. As of 2020, the horseshoe collection of the Customs Service Museum founder comprises about 15,000 pieces, out of which 12000 were considered for a new world record, and for which two certificates of recognition were granted.
The Customs Service Museum also has an impressive collection of hats, berets and uniforms of various customs and law enforcement institutions around the world, which consists of a total of over 1,200 pieces.
Oriental and European swords, daggers, hunting knives, steel bayonets and household tools and icons, all of historical and cultural value dating from the Stone Age to the twentieth century, are just a few objects from the museum collection.
Another notorious collection is composed of historical battle flags, which contains 45 flags from the period of rulers such as Stefan cel Mare, Petru Rareș and Mihai Viteazul. Thanks to his collaboration with historians and scientists, and the research he conducted on archive materials and books, Petru Costin managed to reconstruct an authentic and valuable collection of historical flags, the oldest being a Dacian flag, dating from the second century BC.
Petru Costin, who had over 300 national and international exhibitions, is also the author of the largest map of our country, with an area of 64 m2, made entirely of coins (190 thousand pieces).
In 2012, Petru Costin has been decorated with the Republic of Moldova Order of Honor. In 2018 he was awarded the Order of Bogdan the Founder, a high state distinction of the Republic of Moldova, for his achievements in the activity of spiritual and moral rebirth of our society. Over time, the collector was awarded with over 50 orders and medals.
For more pictures, please visit the Facebook page of the Customs Service.
