How to Treat these People Seriously?

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Roused by my comments on reports of recent arrests in Spain which I correctly predicted would not be discussed on the coiney blogs, Engineer by trade, part-time coin dealer Dave Welsh once again questions my qualifications to even open my mouth on issues concerning the archaeological heritage. Let us remember that one of his thinkalikes has even suggested that Professor Martin Carver should "change his job" for expressing his opinion too.

Mr Welsh reckons that his internet "researches" do not reveal enough about me to affirm my right to criticise the coin dealers. Actually what he says about me (and in a cowardly manner disseminates on two forums with thousands of members where he knows I have no access to read what he says still less reply to any discussion) is a muddle of half-understood snippets mixed with the totally made-up, so much for the "research' of a "professional numismatist".

Collectors complain that their arguments are not being taken seriously, first they have to produce serious arguments. This sort of constant sniping from the sidelines of the debate on collecting and a permanent failure to engage with the issues raised about the current state of collecting and the way we deal with it can only lead to the conclusion that there is indeed a case to answer but the collectors and dealers themselves realise they have no answers and wish to distract attention away from the issues.

UPDATE: I am told that not all members of a certain artefact collectors' forum share the rather specific notions of a 'fair exchange of views' in the international no-questions-asked dugup artefact collecting collecting community as represented by Dave Welsh and list owner Tim Haines. There are apparently three of them in a membership of some 2500 "responsible" (really?) collectors. So what does that say for the rest?

Meanwhile it is now emerging what this outburst is clearly intended to detract attention from. Let us recall that it was dealer Dave Welsh who is on record as stating that some of the coins (the Parthian ones) in his own stock were supplied by Spanish dealers and for that reason he did not think they were looted. More on this later.

Vignette: In a debate on heritage issues, nobody (except obviously Jesuit-trained Dave Welsh) expects the Spanish Inquisition.
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