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BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanian border police say they have confiscated 71 Byzantine coins from a British citizen traveling from Turkey to Romania.
Police said in a statement Friday they found the coins in five plastic bags Thursday in the luggage of a 43-year-old man as he crossed into Romania from Bulgaria on a bus. The statement said he told police he bought them from a bazaar in Turkey but was unable to provide documents to justify his claims.
The metal coins of varying colors have details on them indicating they date back to the Byzantine era and are likely to be objects of cultural patrimony. Byzantine coins were used between the fifth and 15th centuries.
Romanian police are investigating the man on suspicion of illegally possessing objects that are cultural patrimony.
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