Urgent, please read.

[Julian]

From: Scott Semans

Date: April 12, 2010 11:11:52 AM PDT

To: undisclosed-recipients:;

Subject: A threat to our hobby

 

Please forgive this intrusion. Whether you collect coins over 250 years old or not, this is an issue that should concern not only every coin collector, but any world citizen who believes in the right to own property, and the rule of law. Does that sound grandiose? The question being considered by a secretive, unelected panel in Washington DC is whether coins, which have passed freely from hand to hand for centuries according to the intent of their issuers, have morphed into something that radical archaeologists and nationalistic politicians call "cultural property," which you are not fit to own. And the practical question this biased and unaccountable committee will decide in two weeks is whether U.S. Customs will be mandated to seize virtually all older coins they think are of Italian origin, with no practical recourse. Why then should you send a fax to these lost fools begging them to honor common sense and basic human rights? Because they are being sued, and if they continue to ignore input they are required to consider, it will hurt them. Your fax (using the link below) is one tiny nail in the coffin of Archaeological Retentionism, the doctrine that only archaeologists should handle objects of past cultures, and only with permission of those governments now in control of ancient lands.

 

Scott Semans

www.coincoin.com

 

Begin forwarded message:

 

The U.S. State Department has announced a date of May 6-7 for Cultural Property Advisory Committee hearings on the request for renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding with Italy. In practical terms, the U.S. government is about to decide whether antiquities and other forms of cultural property that Italy claims as its heritage ought to be restricted from entry into the U.S. unless accompanied by Italian export permits. There is already such an agreement in place, but ancient coins have been exempted twice before in these renewal requests that cover a 5-year window. We have very good reason to believe that Italy and members of the archaeological community will this time seek to add coins to the list of restricted items. There is a period open for public comment on the issue and the best way to comment is by fax.

 

Why oppose these import restrictions? Because Roman coins are at the very core of the cultural experience that we all treasure. They have circulated all over the known world in antiquity and since through trade and collector markets. It is impossible to distinguish a Roman coin found in Britain, for example, from exactly the same type, mint, etc. found in Italy. Requiring an export permit from Italy on a coin found and legally exported from Britain would not only be impractical, it would not have any legal foundation. Still, any court challenge by an individual is unlikely since the legal costs usually far exceed the value of seized objects. Import restrictions are simply not a viable solution to protecting archaeological sites. They are an idealist panacea that cause far more harm to society than any possible good. Excluding the U.S. collector and trade from the legitimate world market for Roman coins, or unilaterally forcing draconian documentation requirements on Americans, would be grossly prejudicial and would certainly be against the interests of American citizens and their traditional freedoms.

 

We believe as a collector you will want to oppose any expansion of the MOU with Italy to include coins. EVERY person reading this has an interest in ancient coins, even if you don't collect Greek or Roman coins, we would like you to make your view known. The entire hobby is being challenged. There is simply nothing more important to do RIGHT NOW than to take five minutes and register your concern.

 

The industries primary lawyer, Peter Tompa, added the following in a letter we received this weekend.

 

The US State Department has announced an extremely short two week time frame for commenting on the renewal of the current MOU with Italy.

 

If you are interested in commenting about the upcoming MOU and the possible inclusion of coins from the Greek and Roman cultures of Italy, there are two ways to do so.

 

First, you can fax a letter to CPAC following the directions here:

 

Or, second, you can take advantage of the ACCG Fax Wizard. See and

 

If restrictions are imposed, Customs will treat any coin on the designated list as presumptively stolen from Italy. The importer can only rebut that presumption with an Italian export license or through certifications of the exporter and importer detailing provenance back to the date when the restrictions were imposed (which is often unavailable-- and even more impossible to procure as time goes on). I should also note this rule would only discriminate against American collectors. Collectors in the EU-- including in Italy itself-- do not have to make such a showing when they purchase ancient coins.

 

While archaeologists are rightly concerned about looting of archaeological sites, the guilty until proven innocent remedy suggested represents overkill and will only act to punish those who want to abide by the law.

 

[physics-fan3.14]

I'm glad you posted this Julian, thanks. I just got an email from Harlan Berk on the same subject, and was going to post it here.

[World Colonial]

I have heard of this ridiculous idea before but on another occossion which was not directly related to coins at all. I believe it had to do with Iraqi antiquities.

 

If I understand this corretly, what these people either ignore or intentionally fail to understand is that objects like coins and many others as well were VOLUNTARILY transferred across geographical boundaries through the really novel practice of world trade, but maybe these archeologists and politicians have never heard of that.

 

Since coins are specifically issued for commerce, it should be expected that they will be found outside of their geographic origin.

[HiHoAudio]

As countries such as Iceland and Greece go bankrupt on account of greedy bankers and politicians they will try and find creative ways to rebuild their coffers.

 

I read recently that Spain, Portugal and Italy are now on the verge of collapse.

 

I believe this MOU is an attempt by our politicians to wrestle money from wealthy collectors, whether they are actually wealthy or not. It is already happening in Germany, and it was only a matter of time before it happened here.

 

I am suddenly happy (and relieved) that I don't collect ancient Roman and Greek coins and my heart goes out to those of you who do.