The Antiquities Unit at Cairo International Airport foiled on Wednesday an attempt by an Egyptian passenger to smuggle to Saudi Arabia a collection of Khedival-era coins, paper currency, contracts, bonds and other documents.

Head of the Central Administration for Antiquities Units at the Ministry of Antiquities Ahmed El-Rawi told Ahram Online that a committee led by archaeologist Gergues Mounir has authenticated the items as dating from the Khedival era.

El-Rawi said that the smuggler was planning on holding an exhibition in Saudi Arabia where he would sell the items.

The Saudi Arabia coins

Director-general of the Antiquities Units at Cairo International Airport Hamdi Hammam told Ahram Online that the coins included 25 Ottoman coins, 50 from the Sultan Hussein Kamel era (1914 – 1917), 74 from the reign of King Fouad (1922 – 1936), 247 from the King Farouk era (1936 – 1952), as well as three Saudi Arabian coins from the reign of King Abdulaziz Al Saud (1932 – 1953) and two pre-1948 Palestinian coins printed.

"Among the coins from the era of King Farouk was a very rare gold coin," Hammam said, adding that the collection also included 24 bonds, documents and slave contracts.

Palestinian coins

some of the Egyptian coins