In Mykolaiv, two men were convicted of attempting to smuggle coins from Olbia and the Roman Empire

A court found two men guilty of attempting to smuggle seven ancient coins—antiquities from Olbia and the Roman Empire. Both defendants pleaded guilty and were each sentenced to five years in prison, suspended.

This is stated in the verdict of the Ingulsky District Court of Mykolaiv. 

Using metal detectors, the men discovered seven ancient artifacts: two ancient “Borysfen”-type obol coins from Olbia, four ancient “dolphin” coins from Olbia, and one ancient coin from the Roman Empire—an imperial denarius. These items are of cultural significance.

In late 2025, one of the men found a buyer from Chisinau through the classifieds website “OLX.ua,” who agreed to purchase the coins for 12,300 UAH. The cultural artifacts were sent via the “Kharkiv–Mykolaiv–Chisinau” intercity bus with a request to transport the package without disclosing its actual contents. That same day, during a customs inspection at the “Starokozache-Tudory” border crossing, Odessa Customs officials discovered the coins in a hidden compartment.

Earlier, the occupiers unearthed new structures from ancient urban settlements on the territory of Chersonesos Taurica in the temporarily occupied Crimea. The invaders also found new artifacts at the site of the ancient city, which they have not yet had time to examine.

Юлія Калабайда