The chief of the Heritage Preservation Police announced that 800 rare silver coins from different historical periods were seized by their officers. Col. Hassan Ghesmati told ISNA the ancient coins were sized during a raid on a jewelry workshop in central Tehran. The coins belong to Achaemenid, Sassanid, Ilkhanid and other Islamic periods.
Ghesmati said there was a dramatic increase in police action to halt illegal antique trade, leading to a 50% increase in illegal antique busts. He said one person was arrested in this connection and the police need to conduct more investigations before referring the case to the court for trial. He said “this operation which was being planned since a month is the eight during the current calendar year (started March 21). ‘’All the coins have been examined and the authenticity determined.”
Earlier Discoveries
Ghesmati also said 1,344 antique objects were seized in late summer. After their seizure, a letter was sent to the head of the Tehran Cultural Heritage Organization “to give directives regarding the objects but as of this date no response has been received.’’ All the seized objects are kept in the coffers of the police department,’’ he said.
On the discovery of a dress purported to belong to Farah Diba, the former shah’s wife, he said after investigation, the dress was determined “to be 70 years old but it did not belong to her.’’ Further investigations are continuing,” he said. The most important antique seizure in recent times was another raid in late summer, which led to the discovery of 1,089 highly valuable items.
Ghesmati urged the citizens to ‘’increase their knowledge about antique objects’’ so they could cooperate with the police in stopping the illegal trade.
