The American Numismatic Association is reported to be opposed to new import restrictions on numismatic objects. The Association has added its voice to the chorus of outrage of US coin collectors about the prospect of their country agreeing to help the Italian people protect their cultural heritage from being scattered by illegal export by commercial interests. As a result, it has urged members to resist "the prospective addition of ancient coins to the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding with Italy". At least that is what Dave Welsh has just announced on his Unidroit-L forum, though that information does not appear yet in the press releases on the ANA's clunky website ("www.money.org").I discussed the "money.org" Code(s) of Ethics here earlier. There are a lot of words, but the ethics involved seem somewhat primitive.
"the limit of an ANA dealer's "ethics" is what is not forbidden by local, state and federal US laws. Which basically means when it comes to dealing in illegally exported dugups [...] "anything goes". It may be legal (still) in the US, but is it ethical? [...] There's so much here left unsaid, presumably - given the length of these documents - deliberately".This US numismatic opposition to helping Italy fight culture crime is a noteworthy expression of commercially motivated phlistinism, of the moral vacuum that is the background to this radical obstructionist anti-heritage neoludditism. If you support this, shame on you "Money.Org" Association and you bring shame on all your members.
Vignette: more protests against the US taking the moral lead against antiquity smuggling.
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