Now that’s a lot of coin!
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office returned $200,000 worth of ancient coins to the Greek government Monday.
They had been seized from a renowned Rhode Island hand surgeon when he was busted trying to sell over $2 million in fake ancient coins.
Big time coin collector Dr Arnold-Peter Weiss, 54, pleaded guilty in 2012 to trying to sell three extremely rare silver coins at an auction at the Waldorf Astoria, which he thought were merely stolen but turned out to be sophisticated forgeries.
As part of his deal, Weiss had to forfeit 23 legitimate coins in his possession including the five handed over to the Greek government today.
“The coins being returned to us by the New York Country District Attorney are exquisite ancient artifacts that reflect Greece’s culture, history and enduring strength,” Greek Ambassador Christos Panagopoulos said, standing beside the quarter-sized coins imprinted with the faces of Zeus’ son Herakles, the beautiful goddess of the harvest Demeter, and the wine god Dionysus.
The rare drachmas will be displayed at the Numismatic Museum of Athens.
Two of the remaining coins were returned to a previous owner while the others will be donated to cultural and academic institutions in the US, authorities said.
“As tokens of the world’s oldest democracy, these coins are priceless,” said District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. “New York is a place where cultural heritage is celebrated and protected, and my Office’s decision to return these ancient Greek artifacts to the Hellenic Republic is squarely in keeping with our values.”
Weiss, an associate professor at Brown University Medical School, also had to serve 70 hours of community service, author an article warning of the risks of dealing in looted coins and pay a $3,000 fine.