Cairo Airport authorities thwart smuggling 29 Iraqi coins

CAIRO- 21 May 2017: Cairo Airport authorities thwarted an attempt to smuggle 29 rare Iraqi ancient coins by an Iraqi passenger Saturday, according to the head of the Antiquities Artifacts Bureau at Cairo Airport, Hamdy Hammam.

“Airport authorities seized the coins and handed them over to the Antiquities Ministry until we can hand them over to the Iraqi Embassy in Cairo, based on the joint pact between the two countries,” Hammam told Egypt Today.

Experts from the ministry confirmed that the Iraqi coins date back 1921-1958 under the reigns of Kings Faisal I, Faisal II and Ghazi, which makes them subject to Iraq’s antiquities law.