Rare Roman coin returned
Greece will keep pressing for the repatriation of artifacts removed from the country illegally, Culture Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis said yesterday after revealing that Great Britain will return a rare Roman coin to Greece. Voulgarakis did not mention any other specific cases of antiquities being sought actively by Greece. Last month, Voulgarakis met with Michael Brand, director of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, to discuss the return of four artifacts at the Getty. The coin that is due to be returned to Greece later this month had been in the possession of a British antiquities dealer but was handed over to the Greek Embassy in London after an operation by British customs officials. Greece had used a Council of Europe directive to claim what it termed a national treasure. The silver denarius coin was produced in 42 BC, when Brutus was in exile in northern Greece after murdering Roman Emperor Julius Caesar.
