Ancient Greek Coins Are Returned

[Aurelia]

Haha, I like how the coin collector arrested for forgery and criminal possession of stolen property was forced to write an essay for the Numismatic Society magazine like a naughty school boy! 

 

The Manhattan district attorney handed over five ancient coins to Greek officials Monday, after authorities seized the antiquities from a collector.

 

Arnold-Peter Weiss was arrested on Jan. 3, 2012, while trying to sell three other coins—which he thought were stolen from Sicily and worth millions of dollars—during a collector's show at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, prosecutors said.

 

Article continues here.

[Maty]

The WSJ article needs a subscription - you might prefer the one here from the NY Daily News

 

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/u-s-returning-ancient-greek-coins-manhattan-da-prosecutes-prominent-collector-article-1.1891090

 

Apparently only some of the coins he attempted to sell were forgeries. There were real ones there too. Here's an interesting guide to spotting fake ancient coins on eBay

 

http://www.ebay.com/gds/SPOTTING-FAKE-SILVER-ROMAN-COINS-WITH-ACTUAL-PICTURES-/10000000001909753/g.html

[Aurelia]

Strange, I could access the Wall Street Journal article without a subscription the first time round, but not on this post - thanks for pointing it out.

 

Here's the complete article, just for interest's sake:

 

Ancient Greek Coins Are Returned

 

Five Authentic Coins Found Among Forgeries

 

(by Adam Janos)

 

The Manhattan district attorney handed over five ancient coins to Greek officials Monday, after authorities seized the antiquities from a collector.

 

Arnold-Peter Weiss was arrested on Jan. 3, 2012, while trying to sell three other coins—which he thought were stolen from Sicily and worth millions of dollars—during a collector's show at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, prosecutors said.

 

After Mr. Weiss's arrest, analysts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art discovered the three coins to be elaborate forgeries.

 

Officials seized 23 coins in all from Mr. Weiss at the time of his arrest—the three forgeries, the five authentic coins returned to Greece on Monday, two coins on consignment from another owner, and 13 other Greek coins that will go to academic and cultural institutions for study, prosecutors said.

 

Mr. Weiss, a 54-year-old Rhode Island hand surgeon, struck a deal with prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to three counts of attempted criminal possession of stolen property for the three forgeries and was sentenced to 70 hours community service, a $3,000 fine and the forfeiture of the 23 coins.

 

As part of the plea deal, Mr. Weiss was required to write an essay for the American Numismatic Society Magazine on the proliferation of forged coins and how their dissemination threatens the keeping of accurate archaeological records.

 

In his essay, Mr. Weiss wrote, "I was very active in the ancient coin marketplace and paid little attention to foreign cultural property laws, as if they really did not matter within the U.S. Well, they do."

 

Mr. Weiss signed a stipulation with prosecutors forfeiting all 23 coins, agreeing that he doesn't have complete ownership of them, court records show. Mr. Weiss couldn't be reached for comment on Monday.

 

On Monday, Greece's Ambassador to the U.S., Christos Panagopoulos, accepted five of the legitimate coins from District Attorney Cyrus Vance.

 

"The combined value of the artifacts that we're returning…exceeds $200,000 dollars, but as tokens of the world's oldest democracy, they are inarguably priceless," Mr. Vance said. "It's important to remember that there are real victims in these cases, who range from individual collectors to entire countries."

 

The five coins—minted between 515 B.C. and 383 B.C.—originated in five ancient cities and included images of the head of Heracles, a divine hero, Demeter, a Greek goddess, and others.

 

The other 15 coins, which are of lesser value, will remain in the U.S., though prosecutors said details of where they will be housed and displayed have yet to be worked out.