Antique coins and books handed over by Pskov customs officers to the Ministry of Culture

Nine ancient coins and five rare books were handed over by Pskov customs officers for storage and further disposal to the Russian Ministry of Culture’s Directorate for the Northwestern Federal District.

In the spring of last year, through the checkpoints “Ubylinka” and “Ludonka” on the Russian-Latvian border, citizens tried to illegally export rare books and ancient coins to European countries. The individuals did not declare the books and coins they were exporting and did not have authorization documents for their export. Four citizens were found guilty of committing offenses under Part 1 of Article 16.2 of the Administrative Offenses Code of the Russian Federation (non-declaration of goods subject to customs declaration in the prescribed form)

– Goods having the signs of cultural values can be exported abroad only with the permission of the Ministry of Culture. Printed editions and coins were sent for research. Experts confirmed the cultural value of the items sent for study. The Big Encyclopedia edited by S.N. Yuzhakov, published in 1909 and four rare editions in English, as well as nine coins of interest to collectors and historians, including silver florins of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and two rubles of the Russian Empire, copper Russian coins in denominations of 1,2,3,5 kopecks XIX century and two – in denominations of a kopeck at the beginning of XX century by court decision turned into the property of the state and transferred for storage to the Department of the Ministry of Culture of Russia in the North-West Federal District. In the future, perhaps, we will see them in the museums of the Pskov region, – explained the deputy head of the customs Andrey Goryachenok