A collection of 48 ancient coins discovered by the Swedish Archaeological Institute during a dig carried out in Greece in 1922, which had been considered lost by the Greek State, were returned to the Greek culture ministry by Sweden on Friday. The coins were brought back by the Greek Ambassador to Sweden Evangelos Karokis.

They were received by Culture Minister George Voulgarakis, who stressed the Greek state's great interest in the return of antiquities and stressed that coordinated efforts "can bring wonderful results".

The coins date from the 1st to the 4th century B.C. and were taken with the permission of the Greek State in 1922 for preservation. During the '70s they were the focus of an archaeological study carried out by Sweden's Royal Numismatic Museum that was published in 1980.

The Greek ambassador noted that Sweden had never disputed the ownership of the coins, protecting and preserving them in two university laboratories in Lunb and Uppsala

Source: Athens News Agency

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