Approximately 3,900 coins used over 500 years ago by the cultures living in the states of Michoacán and Guerrero , and that are currently in Mexico’s Consulate in Miami, Florida , are being carefully prepared for their return to Mexico.
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In a joint statement, the Culture and the Foreign Affairs Ministries explained that they have followed all the protocols for the handling and transportation of the copper pieces, packed with the supervision of experts from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and the support of Tara Chadwick , curator of the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society .
They reminded that the pieces were delivered in late December 2019 by the U.S. Federal Investigations Bureau (FBI) to the Mexican Consulate as part of the Art Theft program .
The hatchets would have been purchased in the 1960s by a Texan citizen in a numismatic fair and delivered voluntarily 50 years later to U.S. authorities, they added.
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The Ministries explained that the coins are guarded in Miami pending the last actions for their return to Mexico where upon arriving, they will be evaluated by experts of INAH’s National Coordination for Cultural Heritage Conservation .
They stressed that, in this way, the Mexican government affirms its commitment to fight the illicit trafficking of cultural heritage and mentioned that the current administration has taken actions in the matter along with governments from the United States, China, Guatemala, Belize, Chile, Perú, El Salvador, Uruguay, Switzerland, Italy, and Santa Lucía , among many others.
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