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US returns cultural treasures to Iraq - Including a Roman Coin

From CNN News:

A Roman coin from A.D. 248-250, when the Romans occupied the region.

The coin had been left at the Houston Museum of Natural Science by a
man who said he was a contractor in Iraq.

The museum's curator of anthropology alerted federal authorities.

Article:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/02/25/us.iraq.artifacts/index.html?hpt=T2

Photograph of coin from US Immigration and Customs (ICE):
image

The article doesn't identify the coin but it looks like this one from Philip I (Philip the Arab)

Wildwinds ancient coin database - Antioch AE29 BMC 531:
image

image
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Comments

  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,194 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Philip the Arab ain't so rare, and that ain't exactly a perfect bronze. Looks like something that could be had for twenty bucks or less on eBay.

    Maybe my ignorance is showing, but that one doesn't look so special to me.

    Then again, that is spoken as a numismatist. Ask me when I'm in my digger role, or "amateur archaeologist" role, and the answer is different, and clear. Cultural treasure doesn't necessarily have anything to do with monetary value.

    And every little bit helps, when it comes to mending fences. What a horrible mess that was (and is).

    (I'm talking about the museum thing, though one could apply it to the whole war, I guess, if one wanted to stir the political hornet's nest, which I do not.)

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  • SapyxSapyx Posts: 1,976 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The Romans occupied no Iraqi territory during the time of Philip I, and these local bronze coinages rarely circulated far beyond they city they were issued in. That coin cannot be native to Iraq (assuming it's genuine - it could be a tourist copy, for all I can tell from the picture).

    So if it originally came from Antioch... shouldn't they be sending it back to Turkey instead? Or maybe Syria... image
    Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.
    Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations"

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