Monday 22 February 2010

Ancient Coins from Italy and Washington Politics

In a post (More False Claims about Lobbying on Antiquities Issues ) on SAFECorner, Nathan Elkins discusses recent exchanges between preservationists and the coin dealer lobby, and particularly lawyer Peter Tompa. In it he fairly conclusively shows that all along that Bailey and Ehrenberg lawyer Tompa seems determined to misrepresent the true situation regarding the background to the Baltimore Illegal Coin Import stunt and the "test case" which uncooperative IAPN, PNG and ACCG coin dealers hope will overthrow the recent measures adopted for putting the CPIA into action. Accusations addressed to CAARI and its officers which are made into a key postulate of the "test case" are simply a conspiracy theory based on the weakest of "evidence" (speculation based on surmise and insinuation). The posturing of the ACCG and the dealers and collectors gathered under its umbrella is a pathetic attempt to deflect attention from the real issues.

We should not however lose sight of the fundamental issue, all the verbal badminton that the divigations of people like Tompa and Sayles generate has as its aim to hide one fact. This whole affair is about the utter unwillingness of importers of ancient coins in the USA and elsewhere (the IAPN is an international dealers' organization) to respect the export laws of the countries from which they are buying them. Antiquity dealer and ACCG board member Dave Welsh (chair of the ACCG "International affairs committee") frankly acknowledges the "the distaste (and outright contempt) dealers have long felt" for the antiquities laws of other nations.

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