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Polish police today arrested a 48-year old man apparently an internet-based dealer in ancient coins from the Wrocław region on suspicion of illegal posession of archaeological artefacts. In his flat were found 700 coins which were confiscated, a Ministry of Culture and National Heritage expert will now determine the value and origin of these artefacts.
If convicted of illegal posession, the man faces up to three years imprisonment. Looking at the coins, I'd accuse him of another crime on top of handling stolen goods, totally destructive cleaning. In fact, looking at this sorry load of chemically stripped rubbish it looks like this jackass will get off free, as the coins most probably come from outside Poland's borders. Probably somewhere to the south (Romania? Bulgaria? Hungary?). Polish law only refers to artefacts coming from Poland, and I think the numismatic expert will decide this cannot be demonstrated to be the case. This is not the first time this has happened, and no charges were pressed. But it makes a good news story to make the public aware of the problem.
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