Monday, 11 May 2009

Officers of the Ancient Coin Collectors Guild Ignore their own “Code of Ethics”

The careful wording of “Code of Ethics” of the US ancient coin dealers’ advocacy group the ACCG has been noted before. On April 15th 2009 however an officer, or officers of the ACCG with premeditation and deliberately broke its first principle. “Coin Collectors and Sellers […] will comply with all cultural property laws of their own country” by the attempted import into the United States of coins contrary to the requirements of the 1983 Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act According to its bylaws, “The guild does not in any way support, condone or defend the […] violation of any nation's laws concerning the import or export of antiquities”. Unless, it would seem, it is carried out by one of the members or the board of directors of the ACCG for its own purposes. Very much a case of saying one thing and doing another. I wonder if this is the first time members of the Guild have ignored their own regulations when it suits their interests to do so? In any case, we find nothing in ACCG regulations which allows them to engage in commercial activity and importing coins from other countries. Is this what they are using their members' subscription money and financial donations for? What is going on?

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