Ian Richardson, 'Valuing Archaeological Finds' Day of Archaeology 2013, July 26, 2013. A welcome and revealing short text on how the Treasure Valuation Committee works, worth looking at next time you come across a UK Treasure Hunter complaining they "did not get enough dosh" from the public purse and that the TVC is "biased". I think this text explains the reality fairly well.
Friday, 26 July 2013
Focus on UK Metal Detecting: How the TVC Works
Ian Richardson, 'Valuing Archaeological Finds' Day of Archaeology 2013, July 26, 2013. A welcome and revealing short text on how the Treasure Valuation Committee works, worth looking at next time you come across a UK Treasure Hunter complaining they "did not get enough dosh" from the public purse and that the TVC is "biased". I think this text explains the reality fairly well.
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6 comments:
i still believe that just a simple PAS number and find spot [which is provided by the finder and is open to abuse]will add anything from %50 to 100 times the real market value of a piece.a small roman coin worth say £30 will sell abroad on ebay for maybe £60-70 with a PAS number. the crosby garette helmet allthough not treasure is a good example of this.
kyri.
daniel pet doesnt think so,i put the same question to him on twitter,his amswer to whether the pas is boosting the value of these finds with PAS numbers ect "no"
That denial is in the same class as the denial that collectors are the real looters. Both try to claim the laws of supply and demand don't apply.
The "PAS numbers don't add value" claim is particularly inappropriate. The suggestion is that in a market awash with oiky dodgy fakery a certificate of authenticity issued by the British Government won't boost the saleability of an object!
I get the impression that the Dan Pett we used to know has after all his years with "the Partners" had that originally sharp brain sucked out and replaced with PAS 'what-the-boss-says' goo. It certainly seems that way.
It also crosses my mind that at many rallies the PAS table is next to the dealers' table so you can get your ID from PAS and then pass the item, enhanced in value, straight over to the dealer for an offer on the basis of the official identification. What a neat way to maximise the value of your find. PASalchemy!
It's so good, if I was in that game I'd be almost tempted to bring stuff I'd found from elsewhere to be blessed by PAS's magic touch. Do you think anyone else, including nighthawks, might do that? Or put it this way, is it credible that they wouldn't?
Perhaps now is the time for the PAS to tell us how many finds brought to their table at rallies are actually turned away, for example because they have the wrong type of soil on them? How closely DO they look, and how closely DO they question finders?
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