The Archaeological Unit at Cairo International Airport has foiled a smuggling attempt of 185 historic coins.
Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh El-Damati told Ahram Online on Wednesday that the coins were found in the luggage of an Egyptian passenger who was travelling to Rome on Tuesday night.
Inspection work carried out by curators at the Archaeological Unit confirmed the coins were from the Ptolemaic and Graeco-Roman eras.
According to the inspection report, the collection includes of 45 coins between 1.08 and 2.1cm in diameter, 56 coins ranging between 2.2 and 2.8cm in diameter, and 84 coins ranging between 2.9 and 3.5cm in diameter.
El-Damati said that all the coins were suffering of corrosion and bear faces of Graeco-Roman and Ptolemaic deities.
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