A Swiss court has decided that the excavation and sale of a rare coin of Mosses were illegal. The court ruled that is should be considered the product of illegal activities and that it was illegally exported from Greece and sold abroad, exlains the attorney that represented the Greek side to Associated Press.
The decision that dates to last October opens the way for the return of the coins, he added.
The coin, a silver octadrachm found in Northern Greece, is assumed to have been struck around 480 B.C. by a Thracian ruler.
According to the Greek side, the octadrachm changed hands through a number of off-shore companies and was finally sold in 2009 for the sum of 100.000 swiss francs (about 82.000 Euros).
The coin was confiscated by the Swiss authorities after a demand issued by the Greek side, following which the case was submitted to the Swiss courts.
The name of the seller as well as that of the buyer have not been disclosed.
The Swiss authorities are now awaiting a binding disicion concerning the circumstances of the discovery of the coin, notes Associated Press.
Ta Nea, 12.01.2012.
See also:
- Eleutherotypia, 28.01.2011
- Aggelioforos.gr, 28.01.2011
- 24H.gr, 14.01.2012
- Alfavita, 14.01.2012
- Ta Nea, 16.01.2012
-------------------------------------------------------
A.M. Comments
1. The coins is the unique tristater (29,32 g) of Mosses, sold in Numismatica Ars Classica 52 (07.10.2009), lot 110.
2. According to older publications, the Greek case rests on the fact that some photographs of the coins circulated in Greece (Thessalonike and Athens) before the coins was finally sold...
