British Antiquities Dealer TimeLine Originals

I have mentioned TimeLine Originals (TLO) online antiquity dealer here before. This dealer from Upminster in the UK offers an "international clientele" a large selection of quality ancient coins, collectables and works of art (as well as collectors' books and accessories). They specialise in supplying Saxon, Viking and Medieval hammered coins and antiquities, presumably many of them coming from metal detecting. TimeLine therefore can unconditionally guarantee every item in their stocks "to be ancient and authentic" (because many of them were taken not long before being sold from archaeological deposits where they had lain undisturbed centuries or millennnia?). In their recent auctions though they have been offering antiquities from all over the ancient world.

In their sales policy they state that

"All ancient items offered for sale on our website are purchased by TLO from a variety of legitimate sources. These include old private collections, auction houses, legal finders and responsible dealers within the coin and ancient art market. We liaise with the Federation of Independent Detectorists. We regularly purchase large consignments of material so that we can offer a diverse range on a regular basis. We do not buy from dubious sources. We aim to promote responsible private ownership of ancient coins and antiquities in an investment conscious and legitimate manner. As corporate members of many societies and trade associations, we abide by an internationally recognized code of ethics. Our customers include museums, university lecturers and many of the world's major collectors".

University lecturers eh? So if they are so interested in the personal data of their clients, maybe they could tell us how many policemen and High Court judges they have on their books.

The trade associations they call upon to affirm their legitimacy are:

Well, of these the BNTA does not have in its Code of "Ethics" anything about trading in looted material. The American Numismatic Society does not seem to have a Code of Ethics at all and the American Numismatic Association has one, but the wording is really not at all clear on where it stands over material dug up illegally and exported illegally to the US. In any case, why would a British dealer be wishing to be judged by the ethics codes established for the dealers of the United States of America? Timelines Originals seems not to be a member of the British organization the Antiquity Dealers Association (ADA) who have their own Code of Conduct. Nor is it a member of the IADAA discussed here earlier. It is however one of the few members of the Association of International Antiquities Dealers (AIAD). This is an interesting looking organization (nice website) whose profile ("trustworthy and transparent trading") and Code of Ethics, at first sight at least, look quite interesting from the perspective of this blog. What however is disturbing is that these are figured alongside the Ancient Coin Collectors Guild which stands for policies which they call "internationalist" which call for the abolition of antiquities protection legislation and a trade free for all free of "retentive" conditions involving export licences and import restrictions on archaeological material of unknown origin. In pursuit of these aims the ACCG has deliberately imported a shipment of coins into the US in violation of the law. Should dealers who claim the highest ethics be associating themselves with such an organization? I think not. Given the policies it espouses, should other trade organizations not be concerned when their logo appears on websites of their members alongside the ACCG logo?