Looted ancient coins return to Romania from US
An ancient coin from the cache returned to its country of origin, Romania. Photo source: National History Museum, Bucharest.
The 49 coins were publicly exhibited at the National History Museum Monday for the first time since they were stolen in 2003 from Sarmizegetusa Regia, a UNESCO-recognized archaeological site recognized, with the aim of selling them on the international black market.
Police said the coins were identified at a Chicago auction house in 2011. It took two years for the coins to be returned to Romania, with the help of the FBI, Romanian anti-crime prosecutors and government officials.
In recent years, more than a dozen people have been sentenced or are being prosecuted for looting archeological sites and selling items abroad on the black market. The coins were minted between 29 and 44 BC; no value was given for them.
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