Sunday 25 March 2012

A US "Coin Elf Law" in the Offing?

.
There are strange rumours floating around the portable antiquities blogosphere. I have heard it alleged that the dealers' lobby group, the ACCG had been discovered lobbying a congressman to introduce legislation that would exempt coins from import restrictions and the CCPIA. This morning Dealer Dave let something slip on the Moneta-L list which almost inclines me to believe that there is something in these rumours. If so, it would make it official, the ACCG would be trying to tell Congress that ancient coins do not come out of the archaeological record at all but are instead made by the Coin Elves under the mountains (apparently near Munich).

I wonder if the US Congress will swallow that as easily as they did the story about Saddam's fictional WMD? In that case they ended up sending many thousands of brave young men over the seas on a fruitless and destructive hunt to save the world from them in which many lives were lost. While challenging the origin of dugup coins will not have such serious consequences as some of their other reputation-damaging mistakes, certainly if Congress passes any "Coin Elf legislation", it will do no good whatsoever for the vision of the US from outside.

Maybe the Congressmen - before allowing themselves to be persuaded to compromise themselves by the industry's lobbyists - might like to come over here and see for themselves where coins come from. To check the facts on the ground. Maybe Chicago Ron can arrange a metal detecting holiday for them.

No comments:

 
Creative Commons License
Ten utwór jest dostępny na licencji Creative Commons Uznanie autorstwa-Bez utworów zależnych 3.0 Unported.