The Problems with Illegally Transporting Ancient Coins

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I came across this 'Factoidz' article 'The Problems with Illegally Transporting Ancient Coins' by chance yesterday, while there is perhaps nothing much new here, and I would place the emphasis of some parts of it elsewhere, it is good to see the subject "out there" in the popular media. It is also nice to see colleague Nathan Elkins mentioned.

While many are happy to see displays and pictures of ancient coins, many people are bent on owning a collection of them. This leads to many looting from archeological sites and taking coins to sell on the black market. [...] By buying coins from black market sources, collectors are inadvertently hampering the study of the past according to most archeologists and de-valuing the coins as primary sources of history.

I would have mentioned that there is emerging evidence that it would also be supporting organized crime. Clicking on the source of the illustration brings the reader to Reid Goldsborough's well-known (or should be) text 'Looting, Smuggling, And Coins' which argues:

There should be a government-regulated free market of antiquities and coins in source countries around the Mediterranean, as there is in the United Kingdom.

Eh? What government regulation is there of the British antiquities market, surely some mistake! More misinformation about the PAS. has the existence of a government regulated free market of antiquities and coins put a stop to the looting of archaeological sites and illegal activity concerning artefacts in Israel?Goldsborough continues:

Governments would confiscate material shown to have been uncovered illegally at off-limits, bona fide archeological sites. The remainder of the material would enter the collector market, not secretly as happens today, with much knowledge of the past lost, but openly so the material could be fully studied. Governments of source countries would further benefit in the form of sales and export taxes just as with other goods sold or exported.

Well, isn't it the case that current laws confiscate confiscate material excavated illegally at off-limits archaeological sites? What is a "bone fide" archaeological site, who defines it and how (for the purposes of this market)? Also I fail to see how imposing a tax on antiquity exports is going to help cut down clandestine exportation. This can only work with some form of import control at the other end, as most collectors willingly buy antiquities on the open market without paying the slightest attention to the precise formalities of them leaving the source country.

So we come back to the same problem of the lack of responsibility of the collectors (the ubiquity of customers of the dodgy dealers) for providing the incentive for trading in licitly-obtained material. it is these collectors that are providing the motor for the looting and illegal export of material.

Goldsborough finishes with a flourish:

Saving Antiquities for Everyone is an advocacy organization that, despite its name, promotes the mainstream archeological position, which includes banning the private collecting of ancient coins and artifacts. Ancient Coin Collectors Guild is an advocacy organization that, despite its name, promotes the mainstream position of coin dealers, which includes the preservation of the right to sell and buy ancient coins. Neither organization is advocating the rationalization of laws in source countries and the furthering of knowledge this would lead to.

Firstly SAFE does not work for the "banning" of collecting, the mainstream position is that the market should be restricted to that which is licitly and sustainably obtained. Inasmuch as most of the antiquities market today seems to be quite the opposite (unsustainable and damaging) of the desired form, then it seems reasonable to oppose all elements within it which would tend to make that situation much worse as the market expands. But by all means let us work together to see a rationalisation of laws, we could start with the largest market country, the US rationalising its own laws not only as a receiver of antiquities, but a source of antiquities. Alongside legislative changes however we need to see a massive change in attitudes and a taking of responsibility by dealers and especially collectors to reduce the problems with illegally transporting illicitly obtained ancient coins.
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