Italy will return to Greece eighty ancient Greek coins on the sidelines of the informal meeting of the European Culture Ministers which is held in Turin, Italy.

The coins, seventy nine silver and one copper, are dated between the 5th and the 2nd century BC and are from the area of Macedonia and more specifically from Halkidiki (Akanthos and Toroni areas). The ancient coins were confiscated by the Italian authorities in 2008.

The repatriation of the ancient coins is a result of the continuous actions of the Greek Culture Ministry in cooperation with the Italian authorities.

A ceremony will take place in Turin during which Italian Culture Minister will hand over the ancient coins to Greek Culture Minister. This constitutes the first incident, on Italy’s side, of implementation of the EU directive on the repatriation of smuggled antiquities.