In the "Re: Hadrian Denarius £?" thread in the "value your finds" section of a metal detecting forum near you, after a discussion about whether people sell their finds, member "letiss30" (Fri Feb 22, 2013 10:05 am) boasts:
For the first time I sold a coin last week for £950.It has gone to a Celtic coin dealer for his collection.I feel it has gone to a better home where it can be researched and shown to the world in his books. The money will pay for work on my camper van which will enhance our holidays. So my family will all gain from this tiny little coin, rather than it sat in a box where no one really cared about it. Not everyone sells their finds, but a lot of people do.I am sure a "lot of" those people "only interested in the history" folk do. So if the primary concern was that an object is in a place where it is accessible for researchers and shown to the world, why not donate it to a museum? Or is that instead a glib justification for the selfish act of hoiking a significant archaeological items from its place in the archaeological record and flogging it off on EBay or to a dealer? Answers on a postcard please.
What I think is significant is the way this guy says what his share of the money will pay for - without mentioning what the farmer will do with his share, or that the landowner even got a share at all. I am sure this is an oversight that other forum members will pull him up on.
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