The Archaeological Units Center at Cairo International Airport working alongside the Customs Department at Terminal 2 successfully prevented the smuggling of 34 ancient Egyptian coins, seizing them from a passenger.
The Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri said that as soon as the Archaeological Units Center at Cairo Airport received a notification from the Customs Department of Terminal 2 on the suspicion of antique coins, a committee was formed from the Archaeological Units Center.
The committee confirmed that the seized coins are legitimate artifacts, and recommended their confiscation in favor of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in accordance with Antiquities Law #117 of 1983 and its amendments.
The had of the Central Administration of Ports and Archaeological Units at the Supreme Council of Antiquities Hamdi Hammam said that the seized coins date back to different historical eras, which included a dinar from the Abbasid era with inscriptions in Kufic script.
Among the seized items were 24 circular coins from the Ottoman era and the era of Sultan Hussein Kamel, in addition to a gold coin coined in Egypt from 1255, and eight coins dating back to the reign of King Fouad I including a gold coin with a picture of the king and another dating back to the era of King Farouk, he added.
