Why Museums Hate Ancient Coins

Well we know not "all" museums hate ancient coins !
The British Museum collection is probably the largest collection of ancients with over one million pieces in the vault. The Ashmoleon and Harvard collections are also quite extensive.
But coins have always sparked the imaginations of people everywhere. Namely the idea of 'buried treasure' is able to make even the most level headed person lose perspective on the topic. What group of kindergarden children isn't fascinated by a pirate treasure map with X marks the spot !

I notice the dealer in question is charged with possessing tens of thousands of dollars in coins and as the photo shows thousands of coins ! Yet at $5 ea (probably $20 in a tourist economy) that number is meaningless.
I would imagine he had his own personal collection which the authorities no doubt seized also.
Well if you can't find a buried treasure chest just do what the pirates did ! Seize one !

The antiquities market has always existed on the fringes of the 'legitimate' market. People (locals) bring in 'stuff' found while building a new room onto the homestead.
In many urban areas you can't dig a hole without finding 'stuff'. Usually just shards of pottery but occasionally something good.
People have been doing it for thousands of years and will continue as long as people are digging holes.
And pirates will be seizing treasure chests as long as there are treasures to be seized.

It seems to me if you want to conserve something, make it valuable.

The Brits have some of the best laws I believe. Find a hoard and report it. Archaeologists can examine and document it and where it's found, plus museums get first crack at it. But in the end the finder and the landowner share the proceeds of the sale.

Italy and other Mediterranean areas have made finding antiquities a real pain because the finders/owners aren't compensated. Worse the owner has an incentive NOT to report the discovery because of the additional cost and hassle such a find can make, especially during construction.

How many sites have been bulldozed by owners simply because they were afraid the State was going to come in and take control of their property?

I´m lucky in that I live in a country that has an amazing amount of historical monuments ..ruins etc

I spent most of my summer break this year visiting different archaeological sites in and around Aragon with my family...absolutely amazing..Roman and Iberic sites with frescos,mosaics,coins and so many artefacts..mind blowing.[twister

I live next to the river Ebro which runs basically from the northern coast of Spain in Cantabria to the Med sea... and so being a major transport route and of course used for irrigation the banks are inundated with Roman and Iberic settlements from North to South.
Speaking to the local people here shows me how scared they´re of letting the authorities know that they have stumbled across some kind of ruin on there finca (basically means a sizeable piece of land that the majority of people have ,,growing usually olives and almonds in the countryside near to their town or city.)As this will mean a complete take-over by the archaeologists,until all artefacts are recovered,and taken away to be displayed in museums!
So in general they PAY.. for a JCB or the like to cover over the remains with soil and debris so as not to cause a problem!! Incredible I know but very true.

And so my next major purchase will be a metal detector and my next in depth conversation will be with a local ..

Saludos Paul

I visited the British Museum Coins and Medals Department some years ago, with a letter of introduction to their safe room.

Saw tray after tray of Roman aureii, of which I was particularly interested at the time.

An experience I will never forget!