Massive raid in Greece

spoon

Looks like there was a big raid in Thessaloniki, Greece, that recovered thousands of coins and other artifacts illegally excavated. I know Greece has really tough laws on this stuff. The guy who had them says he was a private collector? Dimitri, do you have any more news or speculation on this story?

Link to news article

Link to Yahoo slideshow with pics (will probably disappear soon so check it out now if you want to see)

Guess these coins are off the market for good now...

lordmarcovan

<< <i>A police officer shows an illegally excavated coin depicting the ancient Greek mythological hero Hercules, in the northern Greek port city of Thessaloniki, on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2005. Authorities confiscated 3,000 silver and copper coins, and 1,000 artifacts dating from Paleolithic times to the medieval Byzantine era. (AP Photo/Giorgos Nissiotis)
>>





Wow. Somebody needs to bone up on their mythology a little. Last I checked, Hercules was a man.

Helluva gorgeous coin, though.

PuddlePirate

What was it someone said "no one ever got hurt collecting coins..."

Well obviously they didn't know about Greece when they made that statement.

I have been unable to get any decent Uncleaned Greek Coinage for almost a year, most of the stuff on Ebay is garbage and the already "cleaned" stuff is getting pretty darn pricey of late.

sumnom

I have never been much interested in ancients but that one is amazing.

Askari

That's a beautiful piece!! I love the design! I've never seen it before ... but I sure want one like that!!

PuddlePirate

Mr Civitas could probably turn one up for you, expect about $175 or more for a drachmai/stater in that condition and that is probably way under current market.

I'll post some romans later tonite and let you guys see some other "ancient" goodies that ARE part of a private collection.

lordmarcovan

I doubt you could touch a tetra that nice for $175...

syraq

I hadn't heard of it yet, I barely watch tv at all , thanks for the links spoon. Raids like this are not uncommon at all, perhaps the amount seized this time was bigger than usual. Owning, collecting, buying,selling and trading ancient coins is illegal in Greece without a special permit, I believe no more than 15 special permits have been issued all together. Which should explain the very small number of Greek ancient coin collectors living in Greece. I'll keep you updated if I hear/read anything that's worth posting.


PP, it was Sandra Bullock who said that, in "28 days".

XpipedreamR

I don't even want to know...

astrorat

<< <i>Mr Civitas could probably turn one up for you, expect about $175 or more for a drachmai/stater in that condition and that is probably way under current market. >>



At $175 . . . I'll take a couple dozen.

It's probably the "or more" qualifier that will rule the price.

Lane