After much foot-dragging, the State Department and US Customs have finally taken action on imposing import restrictions on items from the People's Republic of China which have been pending since 2005.
The restrictions cover archaeological material from sites documenting China's cultural heritage from the Paleolithic through to the end of the Tang Period (A.D. 907) but also monumental sculpture and detached (!) wall art at least 250 years old. Congratulations to all that have been urging this and working towards it.
Of course US collectors of no-questions-asked coins are disappointed about the fact that ancient coins (which should be simply treated as "private property" of US citizens) are included as archaeological artefacts in the legislation, and (they allege) China had not specifically asked for "archaeological finds and coins" to be covered. It seems to me as a mere archaeologist that if one talks of archaeological artefacts, that is all types of artefacts that are and can be excavated on archaeological sites. So that would, naturually, include coins. But then the US ancient coin-collecting world is as we all know guided by a topsy-turvey logic of its own which defies all understanding.
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