Somehow, Armenian ancient coins and other artifacts are now being sold at world auctions. Unfortunately, their price is typically quite low.
The below-presented coins of Tigran II the Great are estimated between 50 and 400 USD. But at the same time, they are priceless for Armenians.
The majority of the Armenian artifacts that are featured on auctions are brought from Turkey, which is now occupying the territory of historical Armenia. Turks just rob the Armenian monuments on state level.
International media, including Turkish, repeatedly covered this question. Treasure hunters actively seek for the artifacts hidden in the Ottoman Empire by Armenians fleeing the Armenian Genocide and even share tips on deciphering some alleged signs left by Armenians.
However, I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out that some of the artifacts featured on auctions come from Armenia itself. The foremost reason for it is the absence of morality in Armenia. Besides, Russians are frequent guests of Armenian archaeological sites, and thanks to them, the most of the discovered artifacts are today displayed in Russian museums. There, the homeland of those artifacts is neutrally marked “Urartu” to possibly distance them from Armenia, though we know that Urartu and Armenia are synonyms.
Museums are the best case scenario. In the worst case, Armenian artifacts appear on various auctions. At least, the origins of the artifacts are clearly stated there.
Maybe, someday, Armenia will start to retrieve its treasures scattered around the world. But they will be sold for astronomical prices, much more than what has been paid to acquire them. Hopefully, the Ministry of Culture of Armenia will be ready to advocate their position.
