Time capsule with rare coins found in Alexandria

A time capsule containing rare gold coins has been unearthed from the foundations of a 1930s villa in Alexandria. The sealed lead capsule held 13 coins of different denominations, including silver 5, 10 and 20 piastres pieces, and three gold 20, 50 and 100 piastres pieces. These last three are some of the rarest coins in modern Egypt’s monetary history.

The capsule was discovered by archaeologists with Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) in a rescue excavation of a historic neighborhood in central Alexandria.

ACA Secretary-General Mohamed Ismail Khaled highlighted the broader significance of the find, describing it as “a tangible link between Alexandria’s ancient past, from the Hellenistic and Roman eras, and its modern multicultural heritage.”

He noted that the capsule’s contents reflect a long-standing tradition, shared across both Greek and Egyptian cultures, of placing symbolic deposits within building foundations to bring blessing and prosperity. […]

The most remarkable item was a typewritten Greek document found inside the capsule, signed by Constantine M. Salvago and his mother Julia K. Salvago, and dated May 1, 1937. It recorded the laying of the villa’s foundation stone under the supervision of French architect Jean Walter, a vivid reminder of the pride and rituals that defined Alexandria’s Greek community at the time.

Originally from the island of Chios, the Salvago family was one of three dozen noble families to flee the island in the 1822 Massacre of Chios during the Greek War of Independence. Ottoman troops devastated the island, resulting in the death or enslavement of an estimated 100,000 people. Another 20,000 escaped, leaving Chios virtually depopulated and creating a displaced refugee community known as the Chian diaspora.

Michael and Emilie Salvago settled on the island of Syros where their son Constantine was born in 1845. He moved to Alexandria in 1860 and established a successful commercial company that later expanded into banking. In 1872, he and other prominent members of the Greek Alexandrian community founded what would become the Bank of Alexandria. In 1898 he was one of the main co-founders of the National Bank of Egypt. He died unexpectedly in 1901 at the age of just 56, leaving a fortune that his descendants and large extended family continued to increase. The family’s commercial interests ultimately extended far beyond banking to, among many things, railroads, irrigation, oil, coal, sheet copper, dehydrated food, insurance and cotton.

The newly discovered coins will be displayed in a special exhibition at the Graeco-Roman Museum in Alexandria, offering the public a rare glimpse into the city’s vibrant, interconnected past.

* This article was originally published here