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Bulgaria’s National History Museum in Sofia. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Canada returns smuggled antiques to Bulgaria

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf

Bulgaria’s National History Museum in Sofia. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Bulgaria’s National History Museum in Sofia. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) – Bulgaria has regained possession of thousands of valuable antiques illegally exported to Canada.

Culture Minister Vezhdi Rashidov presented part of the returned 21,000 antique coins and artifacts Thursday.

During Rashidov’s official visit to Canada earlier this month, the Department of Canadian Heritage officially returned the antiques following a Canadian court ruling that they were illegally exported from Bulgaria.

Initial estimates put the value of the antiques, which will be given to the National History Museum in Sofia, at 500,000 euro ($700,000).

Alongside Greece and Italy, Bulgaria is believed to be among the countries with the largest amount of antiques on the international black market.

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AP-WF-06-16-11 1633GMT

 

ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

Bulgaria’s National History Museum in Sofia. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Bulgaria’s National History Museum in Sofia. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.