Bucharest Police recover ancient coins put up for sale online, two men investigated in this case

Bucharest policemen have recovered more than 500 ancient and medieval coins believed to be part of the national cultural heritage, which two men were trying to sell online.

On Thursday last week, policemen from Bucharest’s General Directorate of Police conducted three house searches in the capital, in a case targeting the illegal sale of ancient and medieval coins that could be part of the national cultural heritage.

The investigations were started on October 17, when police officers from the Criminal Investigation Service got the information that a man in Bucharest has several ancient and medieval coins, made of gold and silver, that he intends to sell online, including abroad.

“Such cultural assets have archaeological and historical-documentary significance, being likely to be part of the national cultural heritage, most probably coming from archaeological sites and cannot be legally owned by individuals/businesses,” the Bucharest Police explained in a press release. In addition, “the export of such goods is carried out strictly according to the law and the person concerned breaks the law when he sells them to foreign citizens, sending them cultural heritage goods through courier companies without subjecting them to the specialized expertise for export approval.”

Following investigations, the policemen identified two men, aged 40 and 77 years, respectively, who allegedly offered for sale goods of archaeological significance, using, for the purpose of attracting buyers, a trading company. During the searches last Thursday, the police officers found and seized more than 500 gold, silver and bronze coins from the ancient and medieval periods believed to be part of the national cultural heritage.

The Bucharest Police said that the coins would be handed over to the Bucharest Municipal Museum, which will carry out the specialized expertise.

(Photo source: Pixabay.com)