This Archaeological Blogger's Advice to Responsible US Collectors on the Egypt MOU

The coin dealer's lobbyist, Peter Tompa is always telling his readers little lies about me, and now he has banned me from replying on his blog, one may expect this disreputable trend to continue. So it is, to cover up for the lack of response to his appeal to oppose the next MOU, he accuses me of allegedly spreading "misinformation". This is because I insist on collectors finding out for themselves what the CCPIA actually says, rather than taking this scaremonger's word for it. That is not "misinformation", it is encouraging collectors to arm themselves with real information, not the coin dealers trade associations' made-up "sky-is-falling" rumours about the potential effects on collectors of America's cleanup measures. A moment's thought will suggest that in reality a cleaned up antiquities market will not not hurt responsible collecting, far from it, it will however hurt cowboy dealers and their dodgier mates who are cagey about revealing the real collecting history of the items in their stock. Tompa wheedles:

So, sure, if you think complying with MOUs is no big deal and you will still be able to easily purchase coins for your collection, by all means take this archaeological blogger's advice and sit back and do nothing. 

What does he know about my "advice"? This archaeological blogger's advice to responsible collectors is to write to the CPAC and let them know that responsible and thoughtful collectors support the US government's efforts to clean up the swamp of the no-questions-asked US antiquities market. Let dugup coin dealers know that responsible collectors ARE concerned about where the artefacts they are asked to buy "blind" (because someone along the line has "inevitably" but irresponsibly "lost all the documentation") come from. Let dealers know that evasion of this question will be noted and increasing become unacceptable.

Let ACCG, PNG and AIPN dealers know that the time for passive shoulder-shrugging denial is over, the time has come for dugup artefact dealers to face up to their responsibilities to their clients, and address the issues of the twenty-first century. It is time to dump the conservatives who are holding the responsible hobby back with their atavistic views, tired and flawed arguments and flabby pseudo-justifications.

"My advice" to responsible collectors is far from "sit back and do nothing", on the contrary it is to initiate action to take back the responsible side of the hobby from these self-appointed messiahs and rabid prophets of doom who are retarding its growth. They are self-evidently seriously damaging the hobby and its reputation.