Egyptian authorities thwarted an attempt to smuggle 34 rare coins out of the country on Wednesday.
The coins seized at Cairo International Airport date back to various periods of Egypt’s history, the country’s antiquities ministry said.
The oldest was a dinar dating back to the Abbasid caliphate and inscribed with the characteristic Kufic script.
The haul also included 24 circular coins from the Ottoman Empire, some of which were minted during the reign of Sultan Hussein Kamel, who ruled Egypt from 1912 until his death in 1917.
A gold coin, minted in Egypt in 1255, according to the date in its inscription, was also seized.
Eight coins bearing the insignia of Egypt’s penultimate monarch King Fuad I were found, including a gold coin with the ruler's face on it.
Another coin dates back to the reign of Egypt’s last king, Farouk I and also features his likeness.
Antiquities ministry officials at the airport received information from customs officers at Terminal 2 that a number of coins were found in a traveller's luggage.
The traveller was arrested and the coins seized.
The seizure was part of efforts to enforce the country’s antiquities law, which forbids private ownership of national artefacts.
Dr Bassam El Shamaa, a prominent Egyptian historian, told The National that coins are by far the most smuggled artefacts worldwide.
“In the business of smuggling and selling antiquities around the world, including in Egypt, size is everything. The small size enables smugglers to do their job in a much easier and more discreet manner,” he said.
He also said that in contrast to their small size, coins can often fetch hefty sums of money at artefact auctions worldwide.
A famous coin dating back to the year 77 of the Hijri calendar was sold in 2020 at a London auction house for more than $400,000.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Stage 5 results
1 Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 3:48:53
2 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team -
3 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott -
4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:04
5 Ilnur Zakarin (RUS) CCC Team 0:00:07
General Classification:
1 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott 20:35:04
2 Tadej Pogacar (SlO) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:01
3 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team 0:01:33
4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:48
5 Rafał Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:02:11
The specs
Price: From Dh180,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged and supercharged in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 320hp @ 5,700rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 2,200rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.7L / 100km
The details
Heard It in a Past Life
Maggie Rogers
(Capital Records)
3/5
THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
