Authorities Thwart Smuggling of 9 Ancient Metal Coins

The archaeological unit in the Rafah land port, in cooperation with the customs authorities, succeeded in seizing nine ancient metal coins before getting smuggled out of the country.

Hamdi Hammam, head of the central administration for the archaeological ports and units in the Egyptian ports, explained that the archaeological unit in North Sinai received a notification from the Rafah Al-Barri customs authority, suspecting that there were some coins in the possession of a traveler.

Then, a specialized archaeological committee was immediately formed, headed by Mr. Rajab Al-Husseini, Director General of the Units Center Archaeological sites in North Sinai, which in turn confirmed these coins are ancient archaeological ones.

The necessary legal measures were taken and the currency confiscated for the benefit of the Ministry of Antiquities, in accordance with the Antiquities Protection Law No. 117 of 1983 and its amendments.

“The seized coins are circular in shape and made of metal, dating back to the Greek era, reign of Alexander the Great,” Al-Husseini mentioned. “One side of the coin depicts the god Zeus seated on the throne with an eagle in his left hand, holding a scepter and writings in Latin for the name of Alexander the Great, and on the other side are pictures of Alexander the Great wearing a lion skin likeness Hercules.”

Contributed by Omnia Ahmed