Italy to send back stolen antique coins confiscated in Verona
Arizona Coin Collector
http://www.sofiaecho.com/article/italy-to-send-back-stolen-antique-coins-confiscated-in-verona/id_33947/catid_66
Italy to send back stolen antique coins confiscated in Verona
15:46 Fri 09 Jan 2009 - Svetlana Guineva
Bulgaria will receive back from Italy close to 3800 antique
coins and other archaeological objects, smuggled into the
country in 2005, Bozhidar Dimitrov, director of the National
History Museum said, quoted by Bulgarian language Sega
daily on January 9 2009.
The significant part of the valuables consists of silver and
bronze Roman and Byzantine coins, which experts have valued
at around 35000 euro, Sega daily said.
Four Bulgarians have been detained in Verona, Italy, for
trying to sell the objects. They have been deported to
Bulgaria and will be tried in accordance with local
legislature.
Dimitrov has said that the authorities suspect that the
coins could have been smuggled out of the country by the
same criminal group that committed the robbery at the
Veliko Turnovo museum in February 2006.
At that time more than 10 000 golden, silver and bronze
coins were stolen form the museum's numismatic fund.
Among them were valuable coins dating back to the time
of Alexander the Great. At the time police said that the
robbery had been very well planned and that an insider
might have helped.
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