Posted 11/27/2016 5:28 pm
I've never entirely been able to wrap my head around the arguments to end the collecting of ancient coins. I can understand the calls for some sort of accommodation that might potentially reduce looting of ancient sites. Nobody - other than the looters - wants such activities to continue. And I commend Shanna Schmidt and others who seek a resolution that recognizes that "collecting will not go away." Personally I am not necessarily opposed to a requirement for documenting coins within one's collection according to certain criteria, as long as the criteria are realistic and manageable.
But I've never been able to understand the extremists in the archaeology community who want to end collecting of ancient coins altogether, and who seem to think of collectors as cultural pirates. The fact is that ancients collectors are celebrants of multicultural, historical learning and appreciation. They are also hobbyists who respectfully and carefully steward and preserve the coins they collect.
As every participant on this board well knows, the collecting of ancient coins is a learning-focused hobby that fosters an understanding of the history, worldview, politics, and iconography of ancient societies. To threaten such an endeavor is just plain illogical. Better that the collecting of ancient coinage continues, as it has done for many hundreds of years, than to impede learning and relegate even more millions of coins to dusty boxes in the basements of museums and academic buildings, never to see the light of day.
Every two months the local ancient coin collecting group here in St. Louis gets together. At each meeting a member presents a path of research that was prompted by coins - coins that are passed around during the lecture. History made tangible! Every member in attendance COULD HAVE stayed at home and wasted away watching TV or been engrossed by Facebook. Instead these people meet - often from long distances and after hard days at work - to admire the artifacts of ancient cultures that are discussed and celebrated. Everyone leaves these meetings enlightened.
This is, of course, no different than what happens regularly on this board, pretty much every time Spence, Echizento, VK, TypeCoin971793, AnYangMan, and other enthusiasts post their research.
Are we wrong to be a learning community? It would seem that there are some who think so.
The Ancient Coin Collectors Guild used to have an annual auction hosted by VAuctions. Money raised was used to support ACCG's legal defense of the hobby against those who would increase import restrictions on ancient coins. These no doubt include, as the linked article refers to them, "those individuals, primarily some archaeologists, who oppose any form of individual...ownership of these same objects." I remember donating some books and catalogs for the auction - only to have my name publicly listed, along with other apparent evil-doers, on a cultural property blog - like a sex offender, for gosh sakes. The online equivalent of a public flogging for folks who dared to care about history and the continuation of learning. How dare us!
Alright, I'll get down off my soapbox now.
But I've never been able to understand the extremists in the archaeology community who want to end collecting of ancient coins altogether, and who seem to think of collectors as cultural pirates. The fact is that ancients collectors are celebrants of multicultural, historical learning and appreciation. They are also hobbyists who respectfully and carefully steward and preserve the coins they collect.
As every participant on this board well knows, the collecting of ancient coins is a learning-focused hobby that fosters an understanding of the history, worldview, politics, and iconography of ancient societies. To threaten such an endeavor is just plain illogical. Better that the collecting of ancient coinage continues, as it has done for many hundreds of years, than to impede learning and relegate even more millions of coins to dusty boxes in the basements of museums and academic buildings, never to see the light of day.
Every two months the local ancient coin collecting group here in St. Louis gets together. At each meeting a member presents a path of research that was prompted by coins - coins that are passed around during the lecture. History made tangible! Every member in attendance COULD HAVE stayed at home and wasted away watching TV or been engrossed by Facebook. Instead these people meet - often from long distances and after hard days at work - to admire the artifacts of ancient cultures that are discussed and celebrated. Everyone leaves these meetings enlightened.
This is, of course, no different than what happens regularly on this board, pretty much every time Spence, Echizento, VK, TypeCoin971793, AnYangMan, and other enthusiasts post their research.
Are we wrong to be a learning community? It would seem that there are some who think so.
The Ancient Coin Collectors Guild used to have an annual auction hosted by VAuctions. Money raised was used to support ACCG's legal defense of the hobby against those who would increase import restrictions on ancient coins. These no doubt include, as the linked article refers to them, "those individuals, primarily some archaeologists, who oppose any form of individual...ownership of these same objects." I remember donating some books and catalogs for the auction - only to have my name publicly listed, along with other apparent evil-doers, on a cultural property blog - like a sex offender, for gosh sakes. The online equivalent of a public flogging for folks who dared to care about history and the continuation of learning. How dare us!
Alright, I'll get down off my soapbox now.
