Pensioner's Coin Stash On Show At Museum

More than 1,800 ancient coins were unveiled yesterday at the Numismatic Museum in Athens after the relative of a collector who died 16 years ago found the artifacts while painting the family home.

Culture Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis presented the 1,833 coins and another 66 artifacts found at the Koufoyiannis family home in Nafpaktia, central Greece.

The valuable items had been collected by Athanassios Koufoyiannis, who died in 1991 at the age of 92. He had told friends that he had antiquities stashed away but died before telling them where they were hidden.

The collection includes 1,621 silver and bronze ancient Greek and Roman coins, some dating as far back as the 5th century BC.

The Numismatic Museum is expected to reopen this fall after several months of renovation work.