A Major Threat To Coin Collectors

I pulled this from another site but it is very important please fill out the fax and send it.


To the Numismatic Community: urgent call for action- This should concern everyone who buys, collects or sells coins. Please act now. Deadline is April 22.

Whether you collect coins over 250 years old or not, this is an issue that should concern not only every coin collector, but any world citizen who believes in the right to own property, and the rule of law. Does that sound grandiose? The question being considered by a secretive, unelected panel in Washington DC is whether coins, which have passed freely from hand to hand for centuries according to the intent of their issuers, have morphed into something that radical archaeologists and nationalistic politicians call "cultural property," which you are not fit to own. And the practical question this biased and unaccountable committee will decide in two weeks is whether U.S. Customs will be mandated to seize virtually all older coins they think are of Italian origin, with no practical recourse.
The U.S. State Department has announced a date of May 6-7 for Cultural Property Advisory Committee hearings on the request for renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding with Italy. Hopefully your eyes are not already glazed over by this first sentence. In practical terms, the U.S. government is about to decide whether antiquities and other forms of cultural property that Italy claims as its heritage ought to be restricted from entry into the U.S. unless accompanied by Italian export permits. There is already such an agreement in place, but ancient coins have been exempted twice before in these renewal requests that cover a 5-year window. We have very good reason to believe that Italy and members of the archaeological community will this time seek to add coins to the list of restricted items. There is a period open for public comment on the issue and the best way to comment is by fax. Don't despair, this is VERY easily done. Simply go to the Ancient Coin Collectors Guild web site and using the Ancient Coin Collector's Guild Fax Wizard at
www.vcoins.com/fax. You will be guided through a brief and easy to follow process that sends a free fax to the State Department registering your views. Collectors have only until April 22 to make their views known to the Committee.

Why oppose these import restrictions? Because Roman coins are at the very core of the cultural experience that we all treasure. They have circulated all over the known world in antiquity and since through trade and collector markets. It is impossible to distinguish a Roman coin found in Britain, for example, from exactly the same type, mint, etc found in Italy. Requiring an export permit from Italy on a coin found and legally exported from Britain would not only be impractical, it would not have any legal foundation. Still, any court challenge by an individual is unlikely since the legal costs usually far exceed the value of seized objects. Import restrictions are simply not a viable solution to protecting archaeological sites. They are an idealist panacea that cause far more harm to society than any possible good. Excluding the U.S. collector and trade from the legitimate world market for Roman coins, or unilaterally forcing draconian documentation requirements on Americans, would be grossly prejudicial and would certainly be against the interests of American citizens and their traditional freedoms. Collectors in other nations are not subject to these restrictions, only collectors living in the United States. Restrictions have already been placed on the importing coins from Cyprus and even common 20th century coins of China. Unless this trend is stopped, coin collectors in the United States may no longer have access to older coins of other nations, or will have to pay greatly inflated prices in order to cover the cost of preparing import licenses.

If restrictions are imposed, Customs will treat any coin on the designated list as presumptively stolen from Italy. The importer can only rebut that presumption with an Italian export license or through
certifications of the exporter and importer detailing provenance back to the date when the restrictions were imposed (which is often unavailable-- and even more impossible to procure as time goes on). This rule would only discriminate against American collectors. Collectors in the EU-- including in Italy itself-- do not have to make such a showing when they purchase ancient coins.

While archaeologists are rightly concerned about looting of archaeological sites, the guilty until proven innocent remedy suggested represents overkill and will only act to punish those who
want to abide by the law.

A few items to consider when responding:

1. Coins are very rarely national treasures and most countries of
origin, especially Italy, have large national collections that
represent their ancient coinage.
2. Coins were minted in the millions in ancient times and in most
cases were designed specifically for export. Roman coins
produced in Italy circulated throughout Europe, the Middle East,
and North Africa. If a Roman coin left Italy 2,000 years ago
and is found today in Germany, why should Italy have any claim on
this coin? Further, Customs officials without special numismatic
training would have great difficulty in distinguishing a coin
struck at a Roman mint in London, which would not be subject to
any restriction, from one struck in Rome.
3. Ancient coin collectors respect archaeological sites and in fact
frequently visit and support those sites.
4. If there was not an ancient coin collecting community, most
ancient coins would be melted down for their intrinsic value when
found; thus all of their artistic and historical information would
be lost. In fact, collectors have been the main force over the
past 500 years in preserving this important feature of ancient
civilization.
5. Most ancient coins are found in isolated hoards outside of other
archaeological context.
6. The United States is being singled out among the major coin
collecting countries to impose import restrictions on ancient
coins. These restrictions are not being imposed on collectors in
Europe or other nations. We are being asked to expend our valuable governmental
enforcement resources on an issue which is of no security threat
and where no revenue is involved. These resources could
undoubtedly be better allocated to other troublesome international
issues.


Please take a few minutes and express your views to CPAC. This is our most effective tool to prevent any restrictions to the free international trade that we currently enjoy with ancient coins. Please remember that the deadline for receipt of comments is April 22.

Ancient Coin Collector's Guild Fax Wizard:
www.vcoins.com/fax

You can also fax or Express mail letters directly to the following:

All written materials, including the written texts of oral statements, should be faxed to (202) 632-6300, if 5 pages or less. Written comments greater than five pages in length must be duplicated (20 copies) and mailed to Cultural Heritage Center, SA-5, Fifth Floor, Department of State, Washington, D.C. 20522- 0505. Express mail is recommended for timely delivery.

We simply MUST oppose any expansion of the MOU with Italy to include coins. We must do so with an absolutely resounding voice. EVERY person reading this has an interest in coins, even if you don't collect Roman coins, and needs to make their view known. The entire hobby is being challenged. There is simply nothing more important to do RIGHT NOW than to take five minutes, go to the Ancient Coin Collector's Guild fax wizard and register your concern. Don't wait 'til the 22 April deadline.

Thank you for your support.