tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-217934572024-03-10T22:21:54.358-05:00Ancient Coin CollectingComments related to numismatic topics of personal interest.Wayne G. Sayleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02443529723963083983noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21793457.post-6546069619450918512019-11-13T17:46:00.000-06:002019-11-13T17:46:41.192-06:00Some thoughts about Cultural PropertyIt seems like the battle over "cultural property" has become a circus act, much like life in general these days. As one who has always had a serious interest in the past, and all that goes with that, it seems adversarial to me when someone says that I don't have a right to enjoy the past in the same way that someone with academic credentials does. I earned a Masters Degree in a field related to the past, have written more than a dozen books and hundreds of articles about the past, have received numerous awards from prestigious organizations for the work that I have done in that field and even have a vibrant following on Academia.edu. To me, the fact that I have chosen not to follow the path of professional academia, within the confines of an institution, does not make me an "outsider" when it comes to research, education and appreciation of cultures here and abroad. Some elements of the academic community see that in a different light and to their credit have amassed a propaganda machine that has rarely been equaled in the history that I love to study and learn from. They have big money, big government, big egos and pretty much get what they want.<br />
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What they don't get, is the benefit of millions of equally intelligent people in the world who are very willing to share their interests and knowledge. That is not just a sad day for "them", it is a sad day for all of society. Soon to become an octagenarian, I have seen the world change in many ways. Some of them have been amazing, some heartwarming, and some baffling. I have been able to asorb and adapt to virtually all of them, but my mind is unable to grasp the logic that academia pursues these days in it's perceived battle for survival. Nobody is willing to erase the role of academia, not even the most ardent cultural property internationalist. But academia is no longer the friend of knowledge for knowledge sake.<br />
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I, for one, will not be around to see what the next century brings. Maybe not to see what the next decade brings. One thing that I have absolute surety about in my mind today is that this cultural property war can lead to nothing good for society.<br />
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There is a strong movement these days to repatriate all cultural property to the lands from which it came. Since the UNESCO definition of cultural property includes virtually everything made by the hand of a civilization, this is a problematic ideology. When someone from 19th century China sells a handmade object to buyers around the globe, does that mean that in our age all of those items should go back to China? What about objects of the 18th century? Is 250 years a realistic, though entirely arbitrary bar? How long has legitimate commercial trade been sending objects helter-skelter around the globe? Does every buyer of an object from beyond their own culture need to create a record of provenance for that item? Who really owns the things in our homes that we look at and enjoy every day? The scope of the problem is so vast that nobody has an answer and academia is trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.<br />
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The dialogue these days is unrealistic and will ultimately run its course as all bad ideas generally do. Sadly, that may be too late to undo the damage that has already been wrought between society at large and the academic community. I wish that weren't the case.Wayne G. Sayleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02443529723963083983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21793457.post-19744312055938141612019-04-28T17:07:00.001-05:002019-04-28T17:07:42.836-05:00True JournalismMedia in our day and age has a profound effect on the mood of our country and the path taken by citizens and legislators as well. In recent years, some have questioned whether the Media has not become too active as an agent of specific points of view rather than a medium for dissemination of facts and events. In the process of doing research for a local historical project, I came across a short but delightful comment in the Shelbina Democrat, the news medium for Shelby County Missouri in the 19th century. In a gratious sense of fairness, the newspaper lauded a competitor, the Troy Free Press, for its openmindedness and adherence to a standard of fairness. To the Shelbina staff, this was "True Journalism". I would agree.<br />
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One might wish that the media of our own time was so magnanimous and the industry so dedicated to their purpose. </div>
<br />Wayne G. Sayleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02443529723963083983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21793457.post-76996134531013693462018-07-31T19:00:00.000-05:002018-07-31T19:00:11.812-05:00Virtual CPAC Meeting on Algerian MOU Request and Honduran and Bulgarian Renewals
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<div class="MsoNormal">
By Peter K. Tompa</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
July 31, 2018</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On July 31, 2018, the U.S. Cultural Property Advisory
Committee (CPAC) held a “virtual” meeting where all speakers were linked via an
internet based video platform.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According
to my notes, at least the following CPAC members were in attendance at the
State Department:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(1) Karol Wight
(Museum); (2) Lothar von Falkenhausen (Archeology); (3) Nancy Wilkie
(Archaeology); (4) Rosemary Joyce (Archaeology); (5) Dorit Straus (Trade); (6)
Adele Chatfield-Taylor (Public); and (7) Jeremy Sabloff (Public-Chair). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jim Willis (Trade) attended via
videoconferencing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cari Enav, who runs the Cultural Heritage Center, made
introductions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Andrew Cohen, who is the
executive director for CPAC, provided the speakers with information about the 4
determinations CPAC was required to make before recommending a MOU or an
extension.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dr. Sabloff indicated
speakers should take these requirements into account in their presentations. He
then introduced the CPAC members before calling speakers for the Algerian MOU.</div>
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<u>Algerian MOU</u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There were six (6) speakers:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(1) Kate FitzGibbon (Committee for Cultural Policy (CCP) and Global
Heritage Alliance (GHA); (2) Peter Tompa (International Association of
Professional Numismatists (IAPN)/Professional Numismatist’s Guild (PNG); (3) Gina
Bublil-Waldman (Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and Africa (JIMENA); and (4)
Carole Basri (Fordham Law School).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No
speakers appeared to argue for the MOU. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kate FitzGibbon- CPAC initially only recommended MOUs on a
narrow range of artifacts from a limited number of poor countries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today, MOUs close off entire areas from
collecting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even worse, the State
Department has recognized the claims of nation states to property that has been
expropriated from fleeing Jews and Christians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Ms. FitzGibbon acknowledges that recent Libyan import restrictions have
been rewritten to remove references to Jewish items, but states that most, if
not all, would still be restricted under more general coverage for Ottoman
items.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only way to ensure that
artifacts of repressed minorities will not be subject to seizure is with a
specific exclusion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem can also
be avoided if the State Department adheres to the definition of ethnological
objects in the Cultural Property Implementation Act.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Algerian Jewish artifacts are not the
products of preindustrial or tribal cultures and should be beyond the scope of coverage
under the CPIA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Peter Tompa- This is yet another troubling request from an
authoritarian North African government which is all the more problematic
because Algeria seeks recognition of its rights to objects associated with its
displaced Christian and Jewish populations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This issue potentially impacts unprovenanced coins now in French
collections.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Algeria’s French “Pied
Noir” and Jewish populations mainly fled to France after Algeria gained its
independence.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a real question
whether Algeria’s patrimony is in jeopardy as no information has been provided
whether coins are being found with metal detectors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they are, they need to be regulated as a
less drastic remedy than import restrictions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The UK Treasure Act and Portable Antiquities Scheme is IAPN/PNG’s
preferred model for regulation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
restrictions are recommended for coins, such restrictions must be limited to
those “first discovered within” and hence “subject to export control” of
Algeria. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here, while there is some room
for debate as to whether “local currency” issued at Cirta, Icosium (Algiers),
Hippo Regius and Iol-Caesaria is exclusively found within the confines of
modern day Algeria, coins of the Numidian and Mauritanian kingdoms, and the Carthaginian,
Roman, Byzantine and Islamic Empires circulated well beyond the boundaries of
modern day Algeria.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One cannot simply
assume such coins were actually found in Algeria and hence are subject to
Algerian export controls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gina Bubill-Waldman- Ms. Waldman was driven from her home in
Libya as a child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She believes that
these MOUs are a cynical tactic created to deny North African and Middle
Eastern Jews patrimony and assets which were stolen from Jewish people when
they were brutally expelled. The Libyan MOU has set a very dangerous and unjust
precedent for countries who erase Jewish heritage by claiming it as their own,
when Jews, the people who actually created it, have been hunted and expelled.
Because these MOUs were passed without specifically excluding Jewish items,
Jewish patrimony can now become the patrimony of the same governments which
have destroyed, looted and harassed their now extinct Jewish communities.
CPAC is charged with the important job of protecting patrimony of antiquities.
But by passing this type of MOU, CPAC would in fact be endorsing the opposite
of what its mission tries to achieve: preservation of historical property by
its proper owners. This MOU seeks to make the American government unwittingly
collude with the thieves who stole, destroyed and defaced the Jewish-Algerian
patrimony in the first place.<br />
<br />
Not a single one of the Middle Eastern and North African countries from Morocco
to Yemen, from Iraq to Egypt has earned the right to call thousands year old Jewish
patrimony their own. Not after expelling their Jewish population, confiscating
what was rightfully Jewish property, desecrating, looting, destroying
synagogues and purposefully building skyscrapers on top the cemetery where Ms.
Waldman’s grandparents are buried, like in Tripoli, Libya. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Carole Basri- Ms. Basri is of Iraqi-Jewish heritage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She authored a law review article about the
harsh treatment of Iraqi Jews.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
property of Jews living in MENA countries was expropriated under color of
law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such laws are against our own
scruples as well as the UN Declaration on Human Rights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were originally 1 million Jews in Arab
countries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jewish artifacts do not fit
the definition of ethnological objects under the CPIA and should not be subject
to detention and seizure. Jewish people were city dwellers and the cities where
they lived were neither pre-Industrial nor tribal in nature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The U.S. Government should not work with
governments that have forcibly removed their Christians and Jews.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cari Enav interjects that new Libyan restrictions do not
mention Jewish property so such property should be excluded from any import
restrictions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kate FitzGibbon states
that Jewish property is still included in the Libyan MOU because most Jewish
property cannot be distinguished with what is otherwise described as Ottoman in
the import restrictions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is why an
explicit exemption is required. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All this
could be avoided if the State Department followed the CPIA strictly and did not
consider Jewish artifacts to be ethnological in nature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Honduran Renewal</u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There were three (3) speakers:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(1) Rocco Debitetto (Association of Art
Museum Directors (AAMD)}; (2) Kate FitzGibbon (CCP and GHA); and (3) Peter
Tompa (IAPN and PNG).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No speakers
representing the archaeological community appeared. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rocco <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Debitetto- AAMD
supports the renewal with reservations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Honduras needs to be held to account in Article II.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There needs to be long term loans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The designated list is too broad and needs to
be reformed to ensure that only archaeological and ethnological material as
defined in the CPIA are covered.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kate FitzGibbon- CCP and GHA oppose renewal of the MOU.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Honduras has been given blanket restrictions
for 15 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has not used this time
productively.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of the budget for
cultural heritage preservation stays in the capital rather than being used to
protect sites on a local level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The US
House of Representatives has asked for an accounting of self-help measures as
part of its authorization of funds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Too
much archaeologically sensitive land is being illegally used for cattle farms
with nothing being done about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No
more than $600-$700 is spent on sites per year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is little or no market for Honduran artifacts in the US.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Peter Tompa- This MOU renewal raises the same issues for
coin collectors as the recent Ecuadorian request.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Honduran historical coins cannot be
considered either archaeological or ethnological objects. They were produced in
industrial processes not consistent with them being ethnological objects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such coins circulated along with other
Spanish Colonial coins throughout the Americas and beyond including the United
States.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They should not be subject to
restrictions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Karol Wight asks about AAMD’s recommendations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mr. Debitetto indicates a major one is one
point of contact for loans.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jim Willis asks Kate FitzGibbon about illegal exports from
Honduras. Ms. FitzGibbon states it is difficult to answer that question because
there is a lack of information.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Bulgarian Renewal</u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There were three (3) speakers:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(1) Kate FitzGibbon (CCP and GHA); (2) Josh
Knerley (AAMD); and (3) Peter Tompa (IAPN and PNG).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No speakers representing the archaeological
community appeared. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kate FitzGibbon- The Bulgarian designated list is
all-inclusive and needs to be reformed to comply with the CPIA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It includes many repetitive items that are
not of cultural significance like coins, necklaces and beads.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bulgaria has sorely neglected its
archaeological sites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Substantial EU
funds have been wasted in archaeologically unsound rebuilding projects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very few Bulgarian artifacts aside from coins
are of interest to collectors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Coins are
mass produced and not of cultural significance under the CPIA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bulgaria has not satisfied Article II of the
MOU’s requirement that export permits be issued.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a lack of rigorous police
enforcement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Josh Knerly- There is a major problem with the designated
list.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The designated list can only
restrict items authorized under the MOU.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Here, the MOU only authorizes restrictions on ecclesiastical objects
from 681 AD forward, but the designated list restricts ecclesiastical items
dating from the 4<sup>th</sup> Century AD.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This highlights much greater problems in how designated lists are
prepared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Peter Tompa- Tompa produces a ruler to make a point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A ruler goes from one inch to 12 inches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can all agree that some things like murder
would be “12” on a scale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But what about
looting?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many people would consider it a
“1” on a scale, akin to a traffic violation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That certainly is the case in Bulgaria where there are large numbers of
treasure hunters and where the authorities themselves have been involved in
looting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given this reality, it makes no
sense to continue the MOU which only denies American coin collectors access to
the same sorts of coins available elsewhere including Bulgaria itself. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If CPAC nonetheless approves a renewal, it
should reform the designated list to limit restrictions on coins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moreover, CPAC should recognize that EU
countries like Bulgaria are bound by EU export controls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>CPAC should recognize legal exports from EU
countries of coins on the Bulgarian designated list. </div>
<br />
COMMENTARY:<br />
<br />
If this isn't indicative of a total breakdown in the legislative process, then the process is not assailable. I find it painful to believe my own conclusion within the Democracy that I have spent the majority of my 75 years defending in the U.S. Military and in various civilian leadership positions. What the situation has come down to is that opponents of MOUs on incidental items of cultural heritage, those who have read and support the current legisation (CCPIA) protecting those items, have been marginalized by bureaucratic manipulation in support of a vicious and monied advocate for cultural dominance. Isn't it ironic that a law that defends private ownership and trade is used in an orchestrated attempt to destroy it? All the good that has come from ancient coin collecting over the past 600 years and more is being slandered and dismissed by this Marxist academic coterie with a self serving agenda. The fact that no academic members bothered to comment in this Virtual meeting, is simply confirmation that it isn't necessary. Do they oppose? No, they support. Why then do they not comment? Because they know full well what the outcome will be and don't even want to waste the time expounding on their views. They certainly, do not want to waste any time in a debate since they feel they have already won the day. Isn't that the very height of arrogance? It is not too far afield from the arrogance that German citizens experienced in the 1930s. Ironic also, is the fact that supposed liberal idealogists could be so close in reality to the repressors of the past. I have repeatedly called in public meeting at the State Department for the rule of law. That call has been ignored. When will Congress finally have enough of this and end the disaster in Foggy Bottom? <br />
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</style>Wayne G. Sayleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02443529723963083983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21793457.post-31653022700198105082018-07-29T16:17:00.000-05:002018-07-29T16:17:17.488-05:00What Are You There For CPAC?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHgCZGY0lU0pl7DYvitwRh13UIpTntORluM0mW0KRtIVHFS9fm_PZGetXwI_MUT29U0jXJXsEGHH1wFaROOqpS___b2jakW_U9-7eaJmuoBmylOj_nZJ5gEtDID3EShSzZDqxqcg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-07-29+at+4.07.21+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="1153" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHgCZGY0lU0pl7DYvitwRh13UIpTntORluM0mW0KRtIVHFS9fm_PZGetXwI_MUT29U0jXJXsEGHH1wFaROOqpS___b2jakW_U9-7eaJmuoBmylOj_nZJ5gEtDID3EShSzZDqxqcg/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-07-29+at+4.07.21+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Wayne G. Sayleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02443529723963083983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21793457.post-76666648406510591442018-04-10T22:04:00.000-05:002018-04-10T22:18:24.905-05:00This Day in HistoryIt's been exactly one year since my last post here, both that one and this motivated by a singular event seventy-four years ago. Of all the days that have come and gone in those intervening years, what would make this one stand out so boldly? It has been a life-changing event for many people—both then and now. <br />
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On this day in 1944, at a tiny bungalow in the suberbs of Waukesha, Wisconsin, I was a chubby-cheeked, curly-haired, lad barely learning to walk. It was the day after Easter and winter was whispering farewell. War was raging in Europe and the Pacific— not that anyone could tell by the idyllic simplicity of our lives. It would be several years before I would see my first television and I only faintly remember the existence of a radio at that time. One single light bulb hung by a twisted wire in the center of our small living room and our only source of water was a hand-pump in the yard outside. I do remember, as a very small child, that we had a wringer-type washing machine and the rotation of the agitator fascinated me. Equally fascinating was the weekly gathering of family members who played a variety of musical instruments. It was a wonderful environment in which to grow. Little did I know then, or for many years after that time, how many young men sacrificed their lives for me and those of my generation to enjoy that privilege.<br />
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William Edward Cramsie was one of those heroes. He was endowed with exceptional talent, superb social skills, outstanding leadership qualities and boundless dedication. Bill was good at everything he chose to undertake—graduating at the top of his High School class, top 8% of his West Point class of June 1943 and considered by many of his fellow pilots in the 416th Bomb Group to be the best formation flyer in the Group. By his fourth combat mission, he had already been chosen to fly on the left wing of the formation leader. That was a position of considerable honor and responsibility, not to mention danger. German gunners preferred to target the leading aircraft in a formation. That fourth mission, on April 10, 1944, was a disaster for Bill Cramsie and his crew. Hit twice by flak from the German 88mm cannons, they lost an engine over France and began losing altitude as they headed back across the English Channel on one engine toward their base at Wethersfield. Only a few miles from land, their A-20 Havoc could carry them no further. They went down in Bradwell Bay and neither plane nor crew were ever found.<br />
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Each passing year the technological advances in underwater search make it more likely that these young men will be located and honored appropriately. We long for that day and continue to honor their sacrifice by heralding their achievements and the service of all who flew or worked with them during those trying times. The background and details of this sad but inspiring saga, are covered at <a href="http://cramsie.blogspot.com/">http://cramsie.blogspot.com</a> and in the 416th web site at <a href="http://416th.com/">http://416th.com</a> as well as the 416th Facebook page at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/416th">https://www.facebook.com/416th</a> . <br />
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Note: This entry was written for the Cramsie blog cited above, but Google has seen fit to post it here on the Ancient Coin blog and I can't find a way to get it transferred. So, if you are looking for coin comments -- sorry :-( Wayne G. Sayleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02443529723963083983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21793457.post-56036065448851672752018-03-10T18:28:00.000-06:002018-03-10T18:28:04.022-06:00More Verification of Fake NewsSeveral months ago I cited a 78-page <a href="http://iadaa.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Cultural-Property-War-crimes-and-Islamic-State-2016.pdf" target="_blank">Dutch National Police Investigation</a>
report that criticized Fake News in the media. In particular, this
investigation debunked the outrageous claims of Cultural Property
Nationalists, many of whom are American Institute of Archaeology members
or colleagues, that the funding of ISIS is (or was) derived in large
measure by the looting and sale of cultural artifacts. As I stated
earlier, this claim was not universally supported within the
archaeological community, but it did garner the support and
encouragement of some "big name" leaders in that field. It was clearly a
text book example of the "big lie" syndrome that was eagerly
disseminated by the media without even rudimentary verification.<br />
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An indepth study by MIT scholars, recently reported in <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/03/largest-study-ever-fake-news-mit-twitter/555104/" target="_blank">The Atlantic,</a>
analyzed some 126,000 contested news stories that surfaced on Twitter.
Their finding has undeniably confirmed that the propensity to lie or
grossly exaggerate in the media, and consequently online, has risen to
alarming proportions. I suppose that some Archaeologists might feel
vindicated in that they were just following the Pack while creating and
feeding on the fallout from those Fake News claims of ISIS marketing
through the antiquities trade. Of course the lies were not innocent
little barbs, they were extremely destructive and irreversible. This
abdication of professional ethics is in itself a serious cause for
concern and could well lead to a backlash that those guilty of
supporting had not anticipated. Wayne G. Sayleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02443529723963083983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21793457.post-80791723929485548372017-09-01T16:50:00.001-05:002017-09-01T16:50:09.690-05:00Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire...The Committee for Cultural Policy has pointed out on several past occasions that exaggerated media reports, of Islamic State (ISIS) income from the sale of looted antiquities to art and coin collecting communities, are and have from the start been unfounded. The persistence of outright lies has cast a cloud over the credibility of several major media outlets and their academic "experts" who fed the flame for what is obviously an ideological anti-trade agenda. In their August 2017 newsletter, the CCP presents a report on the findings of a <a href="https://committeeforculturalpolicy.org/facts-about-the-art-trade-terrorism-and-the-size-of-the-illicit-market/" target="_blank">Dutch National Police investigation</a> that flatly debunks this supposed collusion. In all fairness, similar findings have been reported by respectable archaeologists who value truth over public brainwashing—for what some believe to be the "greater good". Sadly, these laudable professionals have rarely been quoted and certainly are not heralded by their more radical peers. Who could ever have imagined that Cultural Property Nationalists would lead Archaeology down such a destructive path?Wayne G. Sayleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02443529723963083983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21793457.post-52098767513994218942017-08-20T00:34:00.000-05:002017-08-20T00:34:41.299-05:00A sign of the times?Over the past decade, collectors of ancient coins have been faced with constant pressure from left wing radicals of academia—particularly the archaeological community leadership and their sycophants. Among the ardent supporters of anti-collector groups are a small but well entrenched cadre of bureaucrats in Washington. The level of governmental infiltration by these cultural property nationalists—bent on eliminating or controlling international trade in cultural property—is in itself cause for some concern. History is replete with examples of ideology supplanting law and individual rights in a quest for social management. It has been the cause of more than one major war between nations, not to mention a global plethora of internal strife over the desire to dictate.<br />
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In recent years there has been a barrage of baseless claims in the liberal press stating boldly that the terrorist movements of the Middle East are being funded by huge revenues from the sale (mainly within the U.S.) of ancient artifacts looted in conflict areas either from theft or support of illegal excavation and exportation. Even avowed supporters of academic archaeology have debunked these wild claims, but they continue to proliferate in the media without justification or any basis in fact. It's the "Big Lie" in what some see as its finest hour. One element of that campaign was an Executive Branch program created during the Obama Administration ostensibly to interdict illegal trade and monetary transfers that aided terrorists. The project was called Operation Choke Point and one of its goals was to throttle trade that the administration considered suspect. In reality, the project became a tool for ideologues to exert pressure on legitimate business that they disagreed with philosophically. Ancient coin dealers were among that group targeted. Under pressure from governmental agencies, several banks cancelled longstanding business accounts with dealers in ancient coins—not due to any transgression nor illegal activity, but simply because they dealt in ancient coins. Of course, those disenfranchised businesses lodged complaints with their elected representatives and Congress held numerous related hearings that outlined problems to no avail. The Executive Branch was apparently within its rights and sphere of influence in imposing this form of repressive overreach. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on which way one looks at the situation, the ancient coin community was not alone. Operation Choke Point affected many other legitimate enterprises in negative ways that the Obama Administration accepted and explained as "collateral consequences". One was expected to believe that the philosophical overtones were merely coincidental. This nonchalant writeoff of legitimate American business drew much attention and as early as January 2014 Forbes contributor Tom Basile wrote, "There is a dangerous arrogance of power among the President and senior-level Democrats that should concern every American."<br />
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Happily, we can now speak of Operation Chokepoint in the past tense. As of August 16, 2017 the Trump Administration has terminated that program and described it as a "misguided initiative". Hopefully, this is a sign of the times and the present administration will also recognize the negative consequences of bureaucratic overreach at the State Department and U.S. Customs. They might start with implementation of the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act and guide the bureaucracy back to a position consistent with the law and not driven, as it has been, by misguided ideology.<br />
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<br />Wayne G. Sayleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02443529723963083983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21793457.post-52370264108009414142017-07-30T09:37:00.000-05:002017-07-30T09:37:37.664-05:00Unintended ConsequencesThree years ago, coin collector and hobby advocate Scott Barman posted on his blog an insightful article about the nature of what others have described as ideologically inspired bureaucratic overreach. He named the post <a href="http://coinsblog.ws/2014/07/an-ancient-dilemma.html" target="_blank">"An Ancient Dilemma"</a> and discussed the issue of unintended consequences in an era of "hyper-partisanship". Where other members of the coin hobby and trade—including myself on some occasions—have become understandably emotional on this topic, Mr. Barman exhibits a remarkable degree of restraint and appeals both to law and common sense. In the past several years, he has also written other pieces on this subject, see:<br />
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<a href="http://coinsblog.ws/2013/04/why-you-should-care-about-restrictions-on-collecting-ancient-coins.html">http://coinsblog.ws/2013/04/why-you-should-care-about-restrictions-on-collecting-ancient-coins.html</a><br />
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<a href="http://coinsblog.ws/2014/05/ancient-collectors-need-your-help.html">http://coinsblog.ws/2014/05/ancient-collectors-need-your-help.html</a><br />
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<a href="http://coinsblog.ws/2016/04/stop-the-government-from-turning-ancient-coin-collectors-into-criminals.html">http://coinsblog.ws/2016/04/stop-the-government-from-turning-ancient-coin-collectors-into-criminals.html</a><br />
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<a href="http://coinsblog.ws/2016/09/collectors-of-ancient-coins-need-your-help.html">http://coinsblog.ws/2016/09/collectors-of-ancient-coins-need-your-help.html</a><br />
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For those who would care to evaluate the "ancient coin collector" perspective, without the mindless media disinformation barrage of our times, the thoughts expressed by Mr. Barman will certainly be worth considering.<br />
<br />Wayne G. Sayleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02443529723963083983noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21793457.post-83676628765306195182017-06-23T17:07:00.001-05:002017-06-23T17:07:30.933-05:00A Sad Day for AmericaToday, Friday June 23, 2017, The Financial Services Committee of the House of Representatives held a hearing entitled <a href="https://financialservices.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=402005" target="_blank">"The Exploitation of Cultural Property: Examining Illicit Activity in the Antiquities and Art Trade."</a> This is certainly a worthy topic of consideration, though the tone is not exactly what the title implies. It's heartwarming, in one respect, that Congress has the time to consider these sorts of issues when the viability of our Republic is at serious risk. On the other hand, it may say something about the very nature of representative government and who is actually represented versus who the electorate is. The three bureaucrats testifiying before Congress in this hearing presented one point of view. They understandingly deplored the loss of cultural property, but essentially blamed that loss on private ownership that evolved through trade with illegal sources -- "trafficking" is the operative word. Not surprisingly, each heralded their own efforts to "save the past" for all of us. Nobody in the room talked about the failure of law enforcement worldwide to stop "trafficking". How is any buyer in an international market able to distinguish between an object recirculating in a vibrant and venerable trade from one stolen yesterday? That is not the "buyer's" job, it is the role of law enforcement and the markets based on verifiable evidence -- commonly called "due diligence". Does that mean providing extensive provenance on any object offered for sale? In the case of minor antiquities that is unreasonable and impossible in far too many cases. Still, some items may well appear "too fresh" and should be avoided by all sellers. The burden of proof that something is illicit, however, remains with the accuser.<br />
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What those few elected representatives in Congress present did not hear (the room was nearly empty) was the six-hundred-year-old story of how private collectors of antiquities have saved countless objects from loss through physical destruction for intrinsic metal value (for example, melting down silver and gold coins) or the countless museums worldwide that are populated with cultural property donated by private collectors. Why was that perspective not made clear? Because the Archaeological community stranglehold on academia and bureaucracy has made alternative views all but impossible. Why was the room nearly empty? Maybe because this is a special interest and most representatives were juggling impossible schedules. The approach of bureaucracy, in its mindless support of a small academic ("expert") interest, funded mainly by public support, is actually extralegal and counterproductive. Academia and Bureaucracy have no actual control over foreign governments, so they turn their attack instead toward the innocent who are blameless. This is most obvious in the liberal media where hardly a day goes by without some blatant and typically false propaganda. The actual truth is that private collectors do far more to save the past than the loose-lipped academics ever dreamed of doing.<br />
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So, what actually is the chance of a fair discussion of the issues involved? Virtually zero. This hearing was essentially a checkmark for the next step in a well planned legislative or bureaucratic event. The failure of governments and law enforcement in foreign lands to eliminate looting and wanton destruction has become a harpoon in the side of law abiding Americans who love the past. Worse than that, the U.S. Government has become the advocate for a disgusting array of foreign sovereignties who have not the slightest regard for individual rights. It's all about politics, not about justice or freedom. Yet, the LAW is what bureaucracy uses as a hammer by distorting the will of Congress in its letter and intent with impunity. It's a sad day for those who believe in the American system of Democracy and Justice.<br />
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“The Exploitation of Cultural Property: Examining Illicit Activity in the Antiquities and Art Trade”
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“The Exploitation of Cultural Property: Examining Illicit Activity in the Antiquities and Art Trade”
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Wayne G. Sayleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02443529723963083983noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21793457.post-88751263527335413032017-06-23T15:45:00.000-05:002017-06-23T15:45:19.196-05:00What happened to the Debate? I was disappointed not long ago when I heard that Ann Coulter's scheduled talk at Berkeley was cancelled by the university and the conservative Young America's Foundation that had sponsored her. The action was taken in response to serious concerns about student and project-sponsor safety. Violence on campus has become a hallmark of that once prestigious university and the ultra-liberal element there has effectively abducted reason in their mind-boggling narcissistic tantrums. One radio talk show host characterized the actions and attitudes of Berkeley students as "Fascist" in their physical repression of free speech—which ironically the liberal community loudly demands when it serves their own purpose. How easily they forget that it is a right that ALL American citizens enjoy.<br />
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Back in the 90s, I don't recall the actual date, I was invited to participate in a program hosted jointly at Berkeley by the Classics Department of the University and the San Francisco Ancient Coin Club. I delivered a paper about clasped hands as a symbol of marriage on ancient coins. The atmosphere was very collegial and friendly. Nobody threatened nor insulted me. In fact, I was left with a very good feeling about Berkeley in general. What in the world happened between then and now?<br />
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Whatever it was, it didn't just happen recently. After founding the Ancient Coin Collectors Guild in 2004, I started attending U.S. State Department hearings of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) in Washington DC. My intention was to establish a dialogue with Archaeologists who opposed the 600-year tradition of private ownership of ancient coins and members of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs that was then becoming proactive in adding ancient coins to designated lists of material restricted from importation into the United States. I had in fact sent a formal letter to Prof. Jane Waldbaum, then president of the Archaeological Institute of America, suggesting that our respective organizations had common interests and might explore areas of potential cooperation. She was then a Professor in the University of Wisconsin system and I mentioned our common ground, at least geographically—since I was a post-graduate student at Wisconsin and a PhD candidate. I never did receive a reply (in retrospect, no great surprise). At one of the CPAC meetings about six months later, while waiting in the lobby for clearance to enter, I happened to recognize Professor Waldbaum standing alone in the room. I walked over and introduced myself. I mentioned that I had recently sent her a letter and wondered if she had received it. She looked me straight in the eye and said "yes", then without another word, turned and walked away. At that point, I had a pretty clear indication where we were headed. Granted, I was only a PhD candidate at UW, but I had by that time become fairly well recognized in the field of Numismatics as an author, publisher and collector advocate. She knew very well who I was and who I represented. In a way, I suppose I should thank Jane Waldbaum for laying it out so clearly. That simple act of arrogance taught me a lesson that no classroom exercise ever could. Education is an ongoing adventure and my 75 years on this earth have certainly been adventurous. What I have learned about people is worth its weight in gold.<br />
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<br />Wayne G. Sayleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02443529723963083983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21793457.post-90433707192658392982017-04-25T09:56:00.000-05:002017-04-25T09:56:56.484-05:00The Devil is in the DetailsIn America, the concept of Representative Democracy theoretically provides each citizen a proportionate voice in government through the election process. Those elected officials serve their constituents, and the nation in general, by creating the laws under which we all manage to co-exist. The faithful enforcement of those laws is delegated to the Executive branch of government and executed through a wide array of bureaus, departments and agencies. As the number of laws has increased over time, so too has the number and size of the enforcement entities. The resulting bureaucracy is managed through a pyramidal system that ultimately becomes difficult to manage in the chaos of election vagaries and changing leadership priorities. In this environment, "top down management" only works to a limited degree. Changes in policy at the bureau management level happen slowly in most cases, if at all. By the same token "undoing" bureaucratic action is easier said than done. Consequently, mid-level managers who have inherent protections—including job security that elected officials lack—are effectively empowered far beyond normal expectations. They make decisions daily that affect literally millions of people. For the most part, I believe these bureaucrats have the best interests of the nation at heart and do their best to serve. But, they are human. Some will inevitably be influenced by a special interest that strikes a chord with them. Since the enforcement of law can require more detail than legislation typically provides, rule-making at agencies becomes a critical element of the process. These rules can either support the letter and intent of legislation or they may reflect the interests or preferences, or even the training, of enforcement agency personnel. As always, the devil is in the details and they can be more subtle than politically appointed managers realize. This is especially true when there is a significant span of time between enactment of law and bureaucratic rule-changes. When agency rules fail to enforce a law in the manner intended and anticipated by Congress, the system suffers a break-down in confidence, effectiveness and credibility. At that point, law becomes a hammer rather than a harbor.<br />
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Although the "rules" of enforcement for the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (CCPIA) are guided by the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the action agency is actually Homeland Security's U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Customs agents at every U.S. port of entry are trained, often by Archaeologists, to identify, detain and seize cultural property that is restricted from importation in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the United States and a foreign nation. The MOU is consummated and its scope determined, according to strict parameters of law, by the U.S. State Department (DOS) with guidance provided to CBP for implementation. Therein lies the devil—in the details of implementation. What may start out as a rational effort to protect cultural heritage can become a repressive and extralegal process that infringes on the rights of ordinary law abiding citizens.<br />
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Recent press coverage of an event held by CBP's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), at the Boston Public Library, highlights a few objects being repatriated to Italy that were allegedly determined by ICE to be illicit. In addition the occasion was apparently convenient for transferring to Italy "nearly 200" ancient Roman coins that ICE had originally detained in Cincinnati more than three years ago. Although some of the objects at this public repatriation were significant and worthy of press coverage, the coins were very low grade and exceedingly common late Roman bronzes of a general type and character found in Middle Eastern "desert" climates. Virtually any serious collector of these coins would immediately recognize the powdery yellow and reddish patina that distinguishes them. In all but the very rarest of cases these types of coins are not the sort of significant cultural property that CCPIA protects. One can't help but wonder why they were detained, much less seized, and why they were being repatriated to Italy?<br />
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There are several paths that might lead CBP to seize ancient coins. If the appraised value of imported coins is greater than $5,000, and there is evidence that the coins were stolen, the coins may be seized by CBP under the authority of the National Stolen Property Act (NSPA). Most source countries for ancient coins have National Patrimony laws that vest ownership of all artifacts, including coins from antiquity, with the State. Therefore, any object exported from these lands without a State permit is by default "stolen" from the State. The recipient of such property in the U.S. may in some cases be guilty of a criminal law violation with serious consequences. A second path to seizure would be illegal importation of a coin or coins that have been restricted through a Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and a country from which the coins had been exported. Import restrictions are authorized under specific criteria outlined in CCPIA and enforced by CBP on a case by case basis as determined by the State Department in a "designated list" of items. These coins would by law need to have first been found in, and subject to export control of, the MOU partner nation. Bureaucratic rule-making has expanded that and other criteria in alarming ways. A third path that ancient coins and other private property may be seized by ICE is through the process of "Civil Forfeiture" which allows law enforcement agencies to seize objects that are suspected of being involved in criminal activity—whether or not the owner was actually charged or convicted. This increasingly controversial action is not particular to coins nor the importation process. A fourth way is if imported coins are entered into the U.S. by means of a false statement.<br />
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The coins seized in Cincinnati were evaluated by a CBP contract "expert" who identified them as Roman Imperial bronze coins and apparently determined their value to be less that $5,000, which ruled out the NSPA. The stated invoice price was actually $1,000, which seems reasonable considering the nature of the coins shown in press releases. Under no circumstances would they meet the NSPA threshold. At some point, CBP must also have realized that the coins were exported from United Arab Emirates, and the U.S. does not have an MOU with UAE under the authority of CCPIA. Since there was no evidence of associated criminal activity, Civil Forfeiture was apparently ruled out. It would have been appropriate at that point for CBP to release the shipment with an apology and move on. However, three years ago there was a clamor in the Archaeological community and surrogate Media for widespread prohibitions on importation of virtually all cultural property. Returning these coins to their rightful owner might have been politically embarrassing. That left CBP with only one option—the false statement route. These coins were obviously found in the Middle East—not in Italy—based on photos released by CBP. Mint names on some of the coins, iconographic details on others and "desert patina" on virtually all leave no doubt as to their source. When CBP interviewed the importer they reportedly were told that the coins had a Middle East origin. The only viable explanation for seizure by means of "false statement" seems to be that ICE agents erroneously assumed Italy was the point of origin for all Roman Coins. Any other explanation would suggest intentional extralegal enforcement. Once the coins were seized, the importer had the right under law to appeal and contest the seizure. However, the cost of doing so and effecting a reversal of this action would far outstrip the value of the coins themselves. Keep in mind that the Ancient Coin Collectors Guild has been in court for eight years, with significant costs to both the Guild and the U.S. Government, fighting the extralegal seizure of $275 worth of low grade ancient coins. It is understandable that the importer simply gave up the coins. Whether intentional or not, this amounts to intimidation by a government agency charged with serving the public. The private property of a citizen in cases like this is seized without justification—and that is the basis of the ACCG court case which is in effect a class action suit on behalf of all collectors. Even if the documentation in Cincinnati were inaccurate, and it does not seem to be, the typical penalty in minor cases like this would be a reasonable fine, not seizure. Ironically, even if the coins had all been struck at the mint in Rome they were still not covered by the existing MOU with Italy because that MOU does not include Roman Imperial Coins, only early Italian and Republican coins and coinage of Greek colonies in southern Italy.<br />
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Adding insult to injury, CBP has now repatriated the coins to Italy—where they had probably never seen the light of day—and then self-applauded their "protection of cultural antiquities". There was no reason to detain or seize the above coins and no reason to repatriate them to Italy or anywhere else for that matter. One could easily imagine that a Customs Agent in Cincinnati might not be familiar with ancient Roman coins and might need to hold a shipment for a few days pending examination by a more knowledgeable party. One could even imagine that a person contracted by CBP as an "expert" on ancient coins might err or be misunderstood, but the above case is not a unique example of collateral damage. Extralegal and unduly aggressive seizures by CBP and ICE are of increasing concern to the many thousands of Americans who buy coins legally from foreign vendors. That concern will not be alleviated until the letter and intent of existing law is restored.<br />
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Wayne G. Sayleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02443529723963083983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21793457.post-87209061376008815012017-04-22T16:49:00.000-05:002017-04-22T16:49:53.855-05:00The Law and Ultra ViresCultural Heritage Lawyer Rick St. Hilaire, an apologist for cultural property nationalists and a critic of private ownership and trade in cultural property, has posted on his <a href="http://culturalheritagelawyer.blogspot.com/2017/04/federal-court-leaves-cpia-coin-import.html" target="_blank">blog</a> a quite lucid history of the Ancient Coin Collectors Guild (ACCG) experiences in District and Appellate Court over the past eight years. The post is surprisingly light on the editorializing or histrionics one might expect. It simply relates the facts and the positions of the two adversaries with reasonable clarity—as well as the judgement rendered. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in cultural property issues.<br />
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That legal journey has in many ways reflected poorly on the Federal Bureaucracy and the Justice system in America. Of course that is not the conclusion of Mr. St. Hilaire, it is my own view and inescapably stems from my own background and experiences. The "law" in America that implements the cultural property protection resolutions of UNESCO, promulgated in 1970, is the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (CCPIA). It is often referred to simply as CPIA. That law was thoroughly debated in Congress and did not reach a point of consensus and approval until 1983. In the process, the purpose of the Act and provisions for its implementation were very carefully codified. Specific protections for private ownership and trade in cultural property were intentionally incorporated in terms that were (and still are) unambiguous. As a result, many collectors and dealers in minor antiquities applauded the implementation of this Act. Indeed, for some who were infatuated with ancient history and were themselves protecting that flame, that law was a positive force. Personally, I still defend CCPIA and have done so publicly and in person at nine formal hearings of the State Department's Cultural Property Advisory Committee. As enacted, I believe it was and still is a good law. Unfortunately, the law is no longer being administered as it was intended and bureaucratic rule-making has supplanted the will of Congress. <br />
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For the first two decades after enactment, CCPIA worked as intended and focused on serious threats to Cultural Heritage. Midway in the first decade of this century there were warning signs that change was afoot. The Archaeological community theme that "Collecting equals Looting", championed by Lord Colin Renfrew, had by then become a cult-like mantra. A radical element dominated much of academia and Archaeological Institute of America leadership—and still does. What had for centuries been a productive alliance between professionals and amateurs evolved into a bitter struggle as Archaeologists became infatuated with control and dominance over what they envisioned as "their" turf. They were very well positioned to infiltrate and influence government agencies based on their credentials, social standing and natural affinity for institutional networking. It didn't take long for the protections that Congress wrote into CCPIA to vanish. By 2007, with bureaucratic intervention, the emphasis had shifted from protection of significant objects of cultural heritage to control of virtually all objects made in antiquity and well into the 18th century. The objects are targeted in a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNESCO_Convention_on_the_Means_of_Prohibiting_and_Preventing_the_Illicit_Import,_Export_and_Transfer_of_Ownership_of_Cultural_Property#Content" target="_blank">laundry list</a> of items defined as "Cultural Property" in the UNESCO Convention, including even postage stamps over 100 years old. They include an unfathomable scope of personal and household items sold, traded, lost or disposed of over several millennia of civilization. Among these are hundreds of millions of ordinary coins that traveled far and wide both in antiquity and in modern times.<br />
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In the wake of this dramatic change, private collectors and dealers in ancient coins became alarmed at the potential threat to their venerable 600-year-old hobby. The nonprofit Ancient Coin Collectors Guild was formed in 2004 to provide representation for tens of thousands of American collectors of ancient coins. It's membership and support come from many foreign lands as well. In 2009, the Guild chose to challenge in U.S. Federal Court changes in bureaucratic rule-making that law professors Urice and Adler at the University of Miami have cited in <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1792588" target="_blank"><i>Rutgers Law Review</i></a> as "lawless" and in an earlier paper as "extralegal". The biggest deviation from law involves a bureaucratic reinterpretation that placed the "burden of proof" over legal/illegal status on an importer of objects rather than on the government. Must a collector prove, through an evidentiary process other than the standard required declaration, that an administratively detained or seized coin or group of coins was legally imported, or must the government, in a seizure, prove that they were not legally imported? What is the standard under law? That rather simple question has been batted around in courts like a tetherball for the past eight years and is yet to be judged on its actual merits. That in itself is a sad commentary.<br />
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When ACCG imported a small mixed group of ancient coins from Cyprus and China, it was with the expectation that they would be detained and ultimately seized. They were indeed detained, and Customs was advised of the intentions of ACCG to challenge a seizure. Ignoring the standard deadline, Customs refused to issue the seizure notice that would allow ACCG to contest. After nearly a year of being stonewalled by CBP, the Guild launched its own complaint against DOS and CBP. That case wound on, and on, and on in District Court with a final judgement that the complaint was not justiciable. That is, it could not be tried in a court of law. That ruling was appealed and the Appellate Court chose not to address the fundamental issues—but said they could be addressed in a Forfeiture Action. The complaint was then submitted to the US Supreme Court in a <i>Writ of Certiorari, </i>which the Court unfortunately did not entertain. The Forfeiture Action was scheduled with the same judge in Baltimore that presided over the original ACCG complaint and the result was similar to that of the original case in terms of addressing the merits of the bureaucratic rule-making. That judgement is now pending appeal.<br />
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In Mr. Hilaire's blog post, he describes these legal actions as "...<span style="font-family: inherit;">the Ancient Coin Collectors Guild's
(ACCG) invitation to strike down or weaken import restrictions that
protect endangered ancient coins." That is misleading on two points. First, the ACCG is, and always has been, supportive of CCPIA and has no desire to strike down the law nor its provisions as enacted. That may very well include import restrictions on coins that are truly "endangered" (but most are not). Secondly, the coins that ACCG imported to challenge the extralegal bureaucratic rule-making are anything but "endangered ancient coins." They are, in fact, poor examples of common coins that have very little commercial value and no particular historical nor art historical significance and no connection whatever to an archaeological <span style="font-family: inherit;">context</span>. <span style="font-family: inherit;">As Urice a<span style="font-family: inherit;">nd Adler</span></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">mentioned in</span> th<span style="font-family: inherit;">is very case, the coins were legally exported<span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></span> These coins were chosen purposely to illustrate how inflexible the rule-making has become. The fact that the U.S. government has already invested eight years<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and</span> an extraordinary sum financially in defense and prosecution expenses, as well as the court's valuable time, just to seize coins worth less than $200 is perhaps an indication that they are more interested in deflecting attention from their so-called "extralegal" action than in saving "endangered coins". In his second paragraph, Hilaire cites "...</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">ACCG's eight-year long legal
struggle to attack American import restrictions placed on ancient coins
in danger of cultural heritage looting and trafficking." He simply, and perhaps innocently, misunderstands ACCG's motivation and the point of this entire effort. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The <span style="font-family: inherit;">decision</span> of Judge Blake in Baltimore is <span style="font-family: inherit;">accurately</span> cited by Hilaire, but ACCG is obviously not content to accept a judgement that we see as contrary to our fundamental rights as well as the letter and intent of existing federal law. The government's position and the court's interpretation of CCPIA do not coincide with a reasonable interpretation of <span style="font-family: inherit;">that law,</span> nor the existing Congressional record of those who labored in committee to produce this piece of legislation. We know what they felt about burden of proof in 1983, and <span style="font-family: inherit;">specifically <span style="font-family: inherit;">about</span> its </span>applicability <span style="font-family: inherit;">regarding the importation <span style="font-family: inherit;">of ancient</span></span> coins,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>because they have told us under oath in documented Congressional hearings. <span style="font-family: inherit;">We also know </span> because some of the "players" in that event are still alive today. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For t<span style="font-family: inherit;">he</span> bureaucracy to arbitrarily reinterpret th<span style="font-family: inherit;">e</span> meaning of CCPIA is a disservice to the whole concept of representative government. In the present situation, innocent collectors of ancient coins are unfairly suffering. In the case of a federal bureaucracy's <i>ultra vires</i> rule-making being validated and confirmed by federal courts, the whole nation suffers from <span style="font-family: inherit;">an</span> untenable precedent. Urice and Adler see <span style="font-family: inherit;">the solution to this in statutory reform. </span>ACCG has al<span style="font-family: inherit;">so recognized a need for statutory <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">review by Congress of some provisions <span style="font-family: inherit;">of CCPIA</span>, but in the meantime</span></span></span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">feels</span> a moral obligation to fight for justice and rule of law with every resource at its disposal—and will continue to do so.</span><br />
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Wayne G. Sayleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02443529723963083983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21793457.post-4187387139567402772017-02-26T13:37:00.000-06:002017-02-26T13:44:16.493-06:00WGS InterviewI recently came across an interview that I did a few years ago for CoinSupplyPlanet.com and thought it may be worth sharing here since it is still as relevant as the day it was recorded.<br />
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<img alt="http://blog.coinsupplyplanet.com/interview-wayne-sayles/" border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK9yJbbKIH4fJMjeZHylsk3vnuCSz7airasR5MYwj68EcUk7KEz6u236jpsAtH6jR_B1n5x12RxDg107Db622nuheDkXloERa8vLmMflYIDbKTcV3AbEAutjTRgCpJFcJ8w03Pkw/s400/WGSinterview.png" width="400" /><a href="http://blog.coinsupplyplanet.com/interview-wayne-sayles/" target="_blank">http://blog.coinsupplyplanet.com/interview-wayne-sayles/</a></div>
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<b>The full interview can be viewed and read at the link above</b></div>
<br />Wayne G. Sayleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02443529723963083983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21793457.post-22136469783662980262016-10-17T13:22:00.000-05:002016-10-17T13:25:54.386-05:00Archaeologists Question Media SensationalismAncient coin collectors in the United States had good reason to smile this past weekend. Archaeologist Paul Barford in his blog <a href="http://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2016/10/us-congress-bases-policy-document-on.html?m=1" target="_blank">Portable Antiquity Collecting and Heritage Issues</a> joined a growing list of critics who believe that U.S. government officials are being swayed by false information. Specifically, Mr. Barford cites major media reports regarding ISIS funding as tainting a recent Congressional Homeland Security Committee Report with "outdated information, misrepresented statistics, and discredited figures." He goes on to suggest that congressional staffers who authored the report "...searched for reports published in major media outlets without critically examining them. "Much of the media coverage of archaeological looting in Iraq and Syria has been driven by sensationalism."<br />
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Ironically, the day following Mr. Barford's blog post, a segment of the U.S. television show "Madam Secretary" included some of the very same sensationalism. In this episode, a "fictional" political upheaval in Algeria, and supposed destruction of monuments, is portrayed as a cover for the theft and sale of antiquities to raise funds for Jihadists. The TV episode was obviously inspired by the same major media reports that swayed Congress. <br />
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The popularity of this sensational journalism and media entertainment is easy to understand. One can even see how it becomes believable to those with limited background in the issues. However, the process is not without victims. Certainly, the loss of history and culture is devastating to all of civilization—but the victimization of honest and thoughtful individuals who legally own and enjoy objects from the past is not a rational nor ethical weapon in the fight against that loss that we all suffer from. I think Mr. Barford and I might agree on that point.<br />
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For ancient coin collectors who are reading these words, there can be little doubt that we need to be proactive in helping to reduce or eliminate the looting and illegal export of coins from source countries. Although provenance has never been a concern in past centuries, it is one of the few ways that legitimacy can become an element of due diligence. As collectors, we need to create and maintain better records of provenance—at least for objects of significant value. That will, over time, help protect the "orphans" from old collections. At the same time, both the public and the guardians of public interest need to follow the path of truth and the laws that govern our union. The sensationalism that drives our moment is not helping. Wayne G. Sayleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02443529723963083983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21793457.post-23095252858321881612016-07-24T23:15:00.000-05:002016-07-24T23:15:19.412-05:00Steven Andrew Sayles 1964-2016<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2BF2a8g_nWoKAktp2aRVwskQylyvvz78huueiMP65z1kfuiP1C4tdoa5wsvou204zK2dw7LevYEQChxcaugqQMtiqgrkW5tpGta9smbS0FpeN2ph1A3H5cvKQ392m5OXhUpXUZw/s1600/SteveSayles-crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2BF2a8g_nWoKAktp2aRVwskQylyvvz78huueiMP65z1kfuiP1C4tdoa5wsvou204zK2dw7LevYEQChxcaugqQMtiqgrkW5tpGta9smbS0FpeN2ph1A3H5cvKQ392m5OXhUpXUZw/s320/SteveSayles-crop.jpg" width="245" /></a></div>
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Steven Andrew Sayles was born in Gander, Newfoundland on March 14, 1964 to Wayne G. and Sharon L. (Greshay) Sayles. As a child, Steve had an inquisitive nature and was far more worldly than his years might have suggested. He was an avid collector of postage stamps from distant lands and was an amateur radio operator who logged conversations with fellow "Hams" in many foreign countries. He grew up with a global perspective, partly as the result of having been raised in a military family with its frequent relocations. After leaving Gander, the family lived in North Carolina and Florida before moving to Turkey for two years. There, many enjoyable weekends were spent exploring ancient Greek and Roman sites and absorbing the local culture. Subsequent homes in Wisconsin, California, Texas and Mississippi helped Steve's world view continue to grow. In 1973, the family moved to Athens, Greece and enjoyed an adventurous two years in that storied land, including an overland excursion through Yugoslavia, Austria and Germany to Paris, France in a Volkswagon Camper Bus. Having developed a fascination with ancient Egypt at the age of 10, Steve and his mother visited the Pyramids as part of a Mediterranean cruise. Weekend sailing in the Saronic Gulf and visits to the beaches of Greece were frequent outings for the family during that time.<br />
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Steve's High School years were split between Amery, Wisconsin and Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. It was at Mascoutah High School in 1981 that Steve became interested in computer programming. He had a natural affinity for computers and later studied computer science at the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. By the end of the 1980s, Steve was working closely with his father in producing a monthly hobby publication, <i>The Celator,</i> for collectors of ancient coins. He took to ancient coins like a duck to water. His writing, editing and computer skills served the publication well and he was elevated to the position of Publisher/Editor in September of 1995. Steve also contributed to several major book projects in the ancient coin collecting field as a production manager and proof reader. During his years at <i>The Celator,</i> he was a familiar face at coin conventions across the country where he stayed abreast of market and hobby news and activities. More recently, Steve was self-employed in the construction trade. <br />
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Steven Sayles passed away unexpectedly of a heart attack on Friday, July 15, 2016. He was 52 years old. He is survived by his mother, Sharon Greshay of Juneau, Wisconsin; father and stepmother Wayne and Doris Sayles of Gainesville, Missouri; brother Scott Sayles of Gainesville, Missouri; sister Stephanie Sayles of Middleton, Wisconsin and grandmother Betty J. Sayles of Coupeville, Washington.<br />
Wayne G. Sayleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02443529723963083983noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21793457.post-67013355182453833092016-03-02T21:40:00.000-06:002016-03-03T05:19:35.406-06:00An Intellectual Curiosity<i>"We treat all stakeholders with a vested interest in the site with the same intellectual curiosity, which means we interact with and learn from local populations, dealers, collectors, looters, government employees, archaeologists, museum professionals, tourists, and customs agents."</i><br />
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<i> Morag Kersal,</i><br />
<i>Archaeologist and Assistant Professor at DePaul University</i><br />
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<a href="http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/02/2016/monitoring-looting-in-jordan-using-drones">http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/02/2016/monitoring-looting-in-jordan-using-drones</a><br />
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Treating ancient coin collectors with intellectual curiosity is an interesting way for Professor Morag Kersal to describe interaction with a learning discipline that is older than any university in the world. Some of the foremost names in international leadership, social justice, art, science, literature, philanthropy, commerce and virtually every other facet of life were collectors of ancient coins. Of course they are viewed with a certain level of curiosity because they typically find their tactile learning experience a passion, as well as exceptionally educational and rewarding endeavor. Today, that remarkable experience continues to attract people of very diverse stations in life and does indeed make them vested stakeholders in preserving the past. Collectors, through tourism and social media, often interact with local populations in regions where ancient cultures left their mark. They obviously have a close connection to dealers who trade internationally in licit coins from virtually every corner of the earth. As a group, collectors are closely knit and delight in sharing discoveries. While few of them ever interact directly with looters, they clearly suffer the consequences of looting as much as anyone else who has a love of the past. A collector interacts with government employees, including customs agents, virtually every time an order is placed in the international market. In spite of ideologically driven recrimination, they frequently and proudly share their knowledge and experience with archaeologists, museum workers and other academic professionals. It should be no wonder that intellectual curiosity comes into play when interacting with ancient coin collectors—they are certainly worthy of the distinction. Wayne G. Sayleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02443529723963083983noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21793457.post-32512633178965375922016-01-31T12:51:00.000-06:002016-01-31T12:55:59.656-06:00RESTART Frequent readers here will know that I have tried on at least two prior occasions to restart the focus of this blog and avoid cultural property issues which only lead to frustration and ill will. Unfortunately, those issues can tend to take over one's thought process and overpower the intent of a blog itself. Consequently, it is time to restart again. We will henceforth talk only about ancient coin collecting and avoid all reference to the political and ideological aspects at hand. Hopefully this time the focus will stay on the joys and benefits of a great hobby and avocation.Wayne G. Sayleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02443529723963083983noreply@blogger.com0