More "Battlefield Losses"? Roman Coin Hoard at Bath

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Coin collectors and dealers' lobbyists are always banging on about how the coins they collect "all come from hoards" and how "no hoards are found on archaeological sites". They say they were always buried in out-of-the-way places and never on archaeological sites. Some claim they were always buried on the edges of battlefields and (romantically) the owner never survived the carnage to collect them. All nonsense of course. Here is another one they will ignore ('Hoard of Roman coins found near Roman Baths in Bath', BBC News 22 March 2012)

More than 30,000 Roman coins were found by archaeologists working in Bath in 2007, it has been revealed. The silver coins are believed to date from 270AD and have been described as the fifth largest UK hoard ever found. The coins are fused together and were sent to the British Museum. Conservators are expected to take at least a year to work through them. A campaign has now been started at the Roman Baths to try to raise £150,000 to acquire and display them. [...] "The find is also unusual as it was discovered by professional archaeologists as opposed to an amateur using a metal detector,".

Well, that's a shame isn't it? that we can see the whole context - when it turns out that hoards like these sometimes DO have an archaeological context. Like in the middle of one of the most cosmopolitan centres of the southern region of the province. The archaeologists were working (since 2008 it says) at the site of the Gainsborough Hotel in Beau Street about 140 metres from the historic Roman Baths. This “Beau Street Hoard” is the "fifth largest hoard ever discovered in Britain and the largest from a Roman settlement".

Vignette: an ancient Roman trying to remember where he left those coins in the centre of the city of Aquae Sulis.

Focus on Metal Detecting: Respect Our History

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Allow me to quote something from the SAFE blog:

Respect Our History: End Production of American Digger and Diggers!

"The undersigned institutions join the growing tide of concern about the National Geographic Channel’s new series “Diggers” and Spike TV’s forthcoming series “American Digger,”both of which are designed to amuse and entertain audiences while glorifying the indiscriminate destruction of American history by artifact hunters. The teaser advertisement for “American Digger” gives a good indication of how little the producers of these shows value the historical record; the show aims to “scour target-rich areas such as battlefields and historic sites, in hopes of striking it rich by unearthing and selling rare pieces of American history.”

America’s cultural heritage is worth more to all of us than the few dollars that the “diggers” will pocket as a result of their exploits. The activities highlighted by these shows destroy the archaeological record, and in many cases cause damage to the historic site that remains. America’s battlefields and historic sites deserve more respect than they would if they were to serve as the personal hunting ground for treasure seekers and pothunters".

The online petition to one of the TV companies has 18700 signatures against continuing the programme.

I idly wonder should that programme have been emitted first in the UK, and some bold heritage professional started up a petition to "say no", what would have happened? Well, first the metal detectorists of Britain would go nuts ("how can they say this about us?/it's legal innit?/ Jus' think of all the GOOD we all do!"). There would be letter writing campaigns to the media. The PAS would be asked to "say something" on behalf of the responsible blokes who are archaeology's "partners" (I will discretely reserve comment on what I personally think the PAS would do). And how many members of the British public would sign the petition? My bet is they'd be hard pushed to get seven hundred signatures, such is the extent of the bamboozling of the British public over such issues. And who is to blame for that? I leave you to decide. But some readers will know my opinion ("Archaeological outreach", my armpit).

Vignette: Bulky US tekkie "protecting the heritage" with a whacking big hammer (Photo: Jeff Daly/Spike TV, via PictureGroup)

The Sharp Eyes of Professor Gill

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Sharp eyed David Gill has spotted some interesting names in a list published as part of the ACCG case against import restrictions on Italian antiquities without documentation of lawful export. Apart from the IAPN and ACCG-related names there, he notes others:

The list is well worth a look as it includes a New York private collector who has returned material to Italy, a New York based antiquities dealer who has returned material to Italy, and two museum curators whose collections have returned material to Italy.

I also see on the list a ranty US coin dealer who lives in an area that on Google Earth looks like a dump, back in 1999 lived in an area that looks even more like a dump, even the surroundings of locatable UK metal detectorists living on council estates look more appealing from the satellite. Also back in 1999 the ratio White Hat Guys: Black Hat Guys submitting comments was more favourable, are there now fewer of us, or more of them? Or have White Hat Guys been going over to the Dark Side in the intervening period?

Sayles Suspends Sales

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Over the past few days there have been a number of sycophantic posts on coiney blogs lauding Wayne Sayles. There was Dealer Dave's fluff piece: "Wayne vs. Goliath" (March 16, 2012, cross posted onto several lists) and Lobboblogger Peter's "Help David Take on Goliath" (March 15th 2012) with the US government cast as the Philistines. One wonders why so much attention is suddenly being paid by the dealers' lobbyists to why Sayles has been battling his own country's government over its efforts to prevent culture crime at such great risk to himself. One might wonder whether they are preparing their readers for something?

I ask this because readers may recall that a while ago Wayne Sayles was moaning that because of his anti-government activities in the ACCG in favour of suspending import controls on unlawfully-exported coins into the US, he probably was on an ICE 'watch list'. Now it seems that Mr Sayles' firm Sayles and Lavender went offline. - nota bene, this seems to have happened about the same time as a coin dealer was arrested at a numismatic conference in New York and is facing a court case over a numismatic items he was selling. Nevertheless, according to Sayles' current LinkedIn profile it should still be online:

Sayles and Lavender [January 2007 – Present (5 years 3 months)] is a limited liability corporation chartered in the state of Georgia. The primary activity of this corporation is retail sales of ancient coins and books about them. Marketing activities are directed mainly at online venues. The firm maintains three storefronts at http://vcoins.com and serves other customers through private treaty.

We find however that despite this, his V-Coins shop Sayles & Lavender has also gone. Odd. I recall I have seen that happen equally suddenly at least once before recently...

Is it a coincidence that in the last few days we observe a fellow coin dealer, also in the ACCG board of directors, suddenly changing his tack over the Greeks "who cannot look after their own heritage [so they might as well sell it to us]", and making a hefty donation to the Greek Archaeologists' Association (and no I'm not going to give him free advertising by giving the link), writing of "the importance of safeguarding Greece’s antiquities and protecting that nation's more than 1,000 archaeological sites", against looting? What a volte face from someone notorious for his constant anti-archaeological sniping and carping ! What has happened to make him - suddenly it would seem - believe it is worth making a gesture to show that deep down inside he has warm cuddly feelings for all archaeologists and he "really is" all for "protecting sites" and halting looting, theft and smuggling?

What is going on here? Why has Mr Sayles' sales site gone off line? Has something unpleasant befallen the veteran warrior for "Truth, Justice and the American Way" in coin collecting? Or has he just got tired of dealing with suppliers who cannot tell him where what they are trading actually comes from? Has he realised the days of nineteenth century no-questions-asked dealing are numbered and is getting out while the going is good? What has happened to his stock, his business records which are a vital link in the collecting histories of all the coins he handled in his career as a dealer? In whose hands are they now? Where will they end up?

Lobboblogger Lacks Coherent Programme

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The paid lobbyist of the numismatic dealers association, lobbyist-blogger Peter Tompa, seems to lack a coherent programme on artefact hunting. In a recent post he ridicules concerns that a US TV programme encourages landowners to rip up archaeological sites on their land for saleable "objects of value" they may contain - "From the looks of it, the archaeological establishment wants an archaeologist in every backyard to make sure you are not excavating anything of historical value on your own land" he quips. He does not notice that the petition against the programming policies of a certain TV station [18 630 signatures now] is not being signed by the "archaeological establishment", but by ordinary people who care about the precious historic record of the USA (Mr Tompa - dunce; its not about preserving the "artifacts" but the archaeological contexts they come from, you just don't get it do you?).

Lobbyist Tompa's laissez faire attitude towards metal detectorists working on sites containing artefactual material in the US contrasts strongly with what he says should be the policy elsewhere, in places like Bulgaria and Greece (here, here, here and here for example). Here, Lawyer Tompa says such hobbyists should be 'regulated' and stopped. This is just another blatant example of horribly rampant American exceptionalism in the writings of US antiquity collectors, deserving opprobrium.

Dr Weiss Due in Court Today

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Arnold-Peter C. Weiss of Nomos coins was selling ancient Greek coins at the 40th annual New York International Numismatic Convention when he was arrested on Jan 3rd 2012. Reportedly he has been accused of one count of criminal possession of stolen property, a felony. He is due in court on March 21 for “possible grand jury action,” said NYC DA’s spokeswoman Diem Tran. (Case number 1299081).

Rick St Hilaire has details of the charge and its possible significance ('Ancient Greek Coins From Italy Reportedly Seized in New York - Arrest Made' Jan. 11, 2012).

UPDATE 22.03.12:
The Chasing Aphrodite blog has a more extensive account of the background and today's events. Federal Investigators Behind Criminal Case Against Coin Dealer Arnold Peter Weiss

Rick St Hilaire has a short piece on yesterday's hearing too: 'Weiss Ancient Coins Prosecution Scheduled for July',

but this one is just brilliant: 'The Weiss Ancient Coin Prosecution and What to Watch For'

Let us just note that there has been not a peep of information on this case from the coin dealers' favourite blogger, Peter Tompa. Is he not following this news as avidly as some of Mr Weiss's fellow dealers? Two of them stayed up all night in a certain district of London looking repeatedly on the Internet (including frequent visits to this blog) to see whether there were any updates. Literally all night. Now I can guess who the first computer belongs to, a Nomos partner, but the other one, just down the road? Why are they SO interested?

The next hearing will be 3rd July.

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The Schimmel Collection

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The Turkish government is currently seeking the return of 18 objects from the Ancient Near East Galleries of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art (initially reported by Martin Bailey in the Art Newspaper earlier this month, now discussed in the Chasing Aphrodite blog, 'Exclusive: Turkey Seeks The Return of 18 Objects From The Metropolitan Museum of Art', Chasing Aphrodite blog, March 20, 2012.). They all come from the collection made by industrialist Norbert Schimmel (here too). Most of the objects have no documented ownership history other than being in the Schimmel Collection by the mid 1960s or 1970s. As Felch and Fremolino note:

Turkey claims all of them were illegally excavated and smuggled out of the country after the passage of a 1906 law that gave the state ownership of its cultural property. All the contested objects are from the Norbert Schimmel Collection, which the museum has described as “the finest private assemblage of its kind in America” and “one of the most important gifts of ancient and Classical art ever presented to this museum.” Between the 1950s and his death in 1990, Schimmel was a member of the Met’s board of trustees and acquisitions committee. In 1989, he donated 102 objects from his collection to the Met. [...] The Schimmel Collection was published in a 1974 volume entitled “Ancient Art:The Norbert Schimmel Collection.” The editor of the volume was Oscar White Muscarella, a former Met curator who has been an outspoken critic of the role museums have played in the illicit antiquities trade. We’ve asked Muscarella for his thoughts on the Turkish claim and will post his response when we have it. It is interesting to note that for some reason Turkey waited 38 years after the publication of the collecting before asking for the objects back.

David Gill ('Norbert Schimmel as the model collector') notes comments by Shelby White on Norbert Schimmel and precedents for the return of items from the collection to the places they had been removed from (an eye of Amenhotep III, an Apulian dinos ). He also notes Schimmel's role in the funding of the purchase of the Morgantina hoard.


See also: Benjamin Sutton, 'More Antiquities Woes for U.S. Museums Loom, As Turkey Demands 18 Artifacts From the Metropolitan Museum', ArtInfo, march 20th 2012.

Paul Barford: Turkey Seeks Surrender of Part of the Met's Norbert Schimmel Collection Cultural Property Repatriation News and Issues.