President Obama's reelection efforts will not rise or fall on his Administration's position on ancient coin collecting, but his record on cultural patrimony issues is worth recounting because of the stark contrast between the Administration's rhetoric and the dismal reality of its actions.
Transparency- The rhetoric: President Obama promised that his Administration would be the most transparent in history. The reality: The Obama State Department has refused to release the most basic information about its decision making on import restrictions on cultural goods. Moreover, the Administration has started closing interim reviews of MOUs. This contrasts with the practice of the Bush Administration, which allowed the public to comment at CPAC meetings whether Italy and Cyprus had met their own obligations under MOU's. For now at least, the public can still comment before MOU's are renewed.
Overregulation of Small Business: The rhetoric: The President claims to be against overregulating small business. The reality: The Obama Administration has extended difficult to comply with import restrictions to Greek and Roman coins from Italy and Greece (the heart of the ancient coin market), and will likely add Bulgarian coins to the list soon as well. In so doing, the Administration has ignored multiple requests for meetings to discuss compliance issues from different coin groups, has offered only condescending responses to bipartisan Congressional inquiries (including one coordinated from the office of Republican VP Candidate Congressman Ryan), and has packed CPAC with academics with little sympathy for such concerns.
China: The rhetoric: The President claims he will be tough on Chinese "cheating." The reality: The Obama State Department has closed a CPAC meeting to discuss the interim review of the Chinese MOU. CPAC should be discussing how import restrictions have done little but empower Chinese auction houses linked to the country's ruling elite, but the State Department will instead likely take advantage of this secrecy to spoon feed CPAC a wildly different version of whether import restrictions have been successful.
Showing posts with label Italian MOU. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Italian MOU. Show all posts
Romney Picks Ancient Coin Collector Supporter as VP Choice
Mitt Romney has picked Congressman Paul Ryan as his VP Choice. Congressman Ryan's office took the lead on a letter to the State Department that expressed concerns about the Italian MOU. However, it's also worth noting that the letter was a bipartisan one, and the concerns expressed by coin collectors on how State and Customs have abused their statutory authority are non-partisan as well.
Latest Pompeii Collapse: Will State Control Model Collapse Next?
There has been another collapse at Pompeii despite recent EU funding efforts. See http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9219470/Pompeii-wall-collapses-despite-new-conservation-initiative.html
Yet, the US State Department, the Italian cultural bureaucracy, and the archaeological lobby still maintain that the Italian State should control anything old as it is the best steward to conserve, study and protect it.
No state has enough resources to protect everything, particularly one teetering on the edge of bankruptcy like Italy. The sooner this basic fact is recognized, the sooner more rational approaches to cultural heritage preservation-- including ones that embrace the value of private collecting-- will be tried, rather than the current approach that assumes a nation state should control everything and anything old.
Yet, the US State Department, the Italian cultural bureaucracy, and the archaeological lobby still maintain that the Italian State should control anything old as it is the best steward to conserve, study and protect it.
No state has enough resources to protect everything, particularly one teetering on the edge of bankruptcy like Italy. The sooner this basic fact is recognized, the sooner more rational approaches to cultural heritage preservation-- including ones that embrace the value of private collecting-- will be tried, rather than the current approach that assumes a nation state should control everything and anything old.
Labels:
AIA,
Italian MOU,
Italy,
Lobbying,
poor stewardship,
State Department
No Shipment to the USA
The practical impact of import restrictions should be made crystal clear with these words, "No Shipment to the USA."
This German dealer will no longer ship this Syracusian Tetradrachm to the USA, presumably because of import restrictions on "coins of Italian type." See
http://www.vcoins.com/grotjohann/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=820
There is no indication this coin is a "fresh find." Indeed, given its toning, this coin has likely been in a collection for years. Yet, since the dealer has not identified this coin as being pictured in an auction catalogue or price list dating from before the restrictions, the dealer cannot ship it to the USA lest it be seized by US Customs and returned to its presumptive supposed find spot, the modern day Republic of Italy. (Though US Customs is supposed to accept certifications that such coins were out of the country before the date of restrictions, even where this information is available, Customs has been known to reject them absent auction catalogue citations.)
Yet, the same coin can be shipped to collectors ANYWHERE else in the world, including within Italy. How then do the restrictions comply with the CPIA's "concerted international response requirement" that was meant to the ensure the comity and effectiveness of import restrictions and also thus preclude any such discrimination against American collectors?
This German dealer will no longer ship this Syracusian Tetradrachm to the USA, presumably because of import restrictions on "coins of Italian type." See
http://www.vcoins.com/grotjohann/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=820
There is no indication this coin is a "fresh find." Indeed, given its toning, this coin has likely been in a collection for years. Yet, since the dealer has not identified this coin as being pictured in an auction catalogue or price list dating from before the restrictions, the dealer cannot ship it to the USA lest it be seized by US Customs and returned to its presumptive supposed find spot, the modern day Republic of Italy. (Though US Customs is supposed to accept certifications that such coins were out of the country before the date of restrictions, even where this information is available, Customs has been known to reject them absent auction catalogue citations.)
Yet, the same coin can be shipped to collectors ANYWHERE else in the world, including within Italy. How then do the restrictions comply with the CPIA's "concerted international response requirement" that was meant to the ensure the comity and effectiveness of import restrictions and also thus preclude any such discrimination against American collectors?
Now is it Time to Free the Coins?
The dysfunctional Italian justice system has finally freed Amanda Knox after concluding she was probably not guilty of murder after all.
But what of the dysfunctional Italian cultural bureaucracy?
As its poor stewardship of major cultural sites like Pompeii shows, it has failed miserably at its core mission of preserving Italy's unparallelled cultural patrimony.
Perhaps, then its not all that surprising that the Italian cultural bureaucracy has instead spent so much time and effort diverting attention away from its own failings by pointing the finger at collectors and auction houses and claiming that they are responsible for looting.
But will funding shortfalls force a change in approach? Not likely, at least while the Italian cultural bureaucracy receives noisy support from archaeologists and their friends in the State Department Cultural Heritage Center bureaucracy.
But does that make it right?
Here, for example, is the reaction of one collector to Archaeo-blogger David Gill's continuing campaign against Christie's auction house on behalf of Italian authorities:
The hypocrisy of David Gill's recent posts (see http://lootingmatters.blogspot.com/2011/10/christies-on-cultural-property.html
http://lootingmatters.blogspot.com/2011/10/schinoussa-archive-and-italian.html)
really is too much. First he plays gotcha with Christie's based on stills from the "Schinoussa Archive" and then he accuses Christie's of failing to cooperate with other international institutions. Objects like those terracottas would never make it to auction if Gill and his colleagues would cooperate and share the Schinoussa images with auction houses and the public. No auction house would put obviously problematic material on the market and no buyer would buy it. Gill, by refusing to cooperate with auction houses and dealers, is doing more to further the sales of illegally obtained objects than the average Italian looter.
Why can't the Italian authorities make this archive publicly available rather than cooperating in Gill's game of gotcha?
And, on another note, how crazy is it that courtesy of the Italian cultural bureaucracy, the AIA and the State Department most ancient Italian coins of Greek and early Roman Republican types are off limits to American collectors-- while Italians themselves as well as other collectors world-wide can import the same coins no questions asked. If it is really necessary to impose import restrictions on coins, how about at least requiring some proof that they are the products recent illicit excavation?
Yes, its time to publish the Schinoussa archive and to free the coins.
But what of the dysfunctional Italian cultural bureaucracy?
As its poor stewardship of major cultural sites like Pompeii shows, it has failed miserably at its core mission of preserving Italy's unparallelled cultural patrimony.
Perhaps, then its not all that surprising that the Italian cultural bureaucracy has instead spent so much time and effort diverting attention away from its own failings by pointing the finger at collectors and auction houses and claiming that they are responsible for looting.
But will funding shortfalls force a change in approach? Not likely, at least while the Italian cultural bureaucracy receives noisy support from archaeologists and their friends in the State Department Cultural Heritage Center bureaucracy.
But does that make it right?
Here, for example, is the reaction of one collector to Archaeo-blogger David Gill's continuing campaign against Christie's auction house on behalf of Italian authorities:
The hypocrisy of David Gill's recent posts (see http://lootingmatters.blogspot.com/2011/10/christies-on-cultural-property.html
http://lootingmatters.blogspot.com/2011/10/schinoussa-archive-and-italian.html)
really is too much. First he plays gotcha with Christie's based on stills from the "Schinoussa Archive" and then he accuses Christie's of failing to cooperate with other international institutions. Objects like those terracottas would never make it to auction if Gill and his colleagues would cooperate and share the Schinoussa images with auction houses and the public. No auction house would put obviously problematic material on the market and no buyer would buy it. Gill, by refusing to cooperate with auction houses and dealers, is doing more to further the sales of illegally obtained objects than the average Italian looter.
Why can't the Italian authorities make this archive publicly available rather than cooperating in Gill's game of gotcha?
And, on another note, how crazy is it that courtesy of the Italian cultural bureaucracy, the AIA and the State Department most ancient Italian coins of Greek and early Roman Republican types are off limits to American collectors-- while Italians themselves as well as other collectors world-wide can import the same coins no questions asked. If it is really necessary to impose import restrictions on coins, how about at least requiring some proof that they are the products recent illicit excavation?
Yes, its time to publish the Schinoussa archive and to free the coins.
Bureaucratic Mess Engulfs Pompeii
In 79 AD a volcanic eruption engulfed Pompeii. Now, it is bureucratic infighting and finger pointing that have engulfed the site, crippleing any coherent response to the problems of preserving the site for future generations.
The Art Newspaper has another report about the inept bureaucratic response to the collapse of the House of the Gladiators at Pompeii. See
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Controversy+over+Pompeii+funding/24455
The State Department Cultural Heritage Center, the AIA and the Italian cultural bureaucracy may be still celebrating yet another extension of the MOU with Italy and its expansion to include coins, but the realities on the ground suggest that Italy's real problem is its own cultural bureaucrats and politicians.
One really needs to ask whether the moral support our State Department provides through such MOU's does anything other than to help prop up an utterly rotten system at the expense of American collectors, dealers and museums.
The Art Newspaper has another report about the inept bureaucratic response to the collapse of the House of the Gladiators at Pompeii. See
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Controversy+over+Pompeii+funding/24455
The State Department Cultural Heritage Center, the AIA and the Italian cultural bureaucracy may be still celebrating yet another extension of the MOU with Italy and its expansion to include coins, but the realities on the ground suggest that Italy's real problem is its own cultural bureaucrats and politicians.
One really needs to ask whether the moral support our State Department provides through such MOU's does anything other than to help prop up an utterly rotten system at the expense of American collectors, dealers and museums.
Slim Public Support for Italian Import Restrictions Raises Questions About State Department Special Interest Program for Archaeologists
Politcos within the Obama State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and Diplomats from the Italian Embassy take note: a recent FOIA request reveals that CPAC only received thirteen (13) public comments in support of controversial import restrictions on "coins of Italian type."
Not that there really was any groundswell of public support for renewing the Italian MOU in the first place. Indeed, CPAC received only about one hundred (100) comments in favor of renewing the MOU at all.
Who supported the renewal of the MOU? The American public? Well, maybe only one or two individuals identified themselves as such. No, as one might expect, virtually all the support came from archaeologists who excavate in Italy, their students or their "trade associations."
And who supported restrictions on coins? Well, the AIA, Lawyer's Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation, a few professors and students from NYU (Home of Pro-Restriction CPAC member Joan Connelly) and foreign archaeo-bloggers like David Gill and Paul Barford.
Contrast this with the one thousand nine hundred (1,900) plus public comments opposed to the extension of import restrictions on ancient coins.
Given this disparity, one can only ask: What gives? Why has the State Department disadvantaged the interests of American collectors and the small businesses of the numismatic trade by imposing hard to meet documentation requirements when the support for such restrictions is so limited?
And more to the point, has State Department Cultural Heritage Center staff told the political appointees at State and the diplomats at the Italian Embassy how thin the support actually is for restrictions?
Not that there really was any groundswell of public support for renewing the Italian MOU in the first place. Indeed, CPAC received only about one hundred (100) comments in favor of renewing the MOU at all.
Who supported the renewal of the MOU? The American public? Well, maybe only one or two individuals identified themselves as such. No, as one might expect, virtually all the support came from archaeologists who excavate in Italy, their students or their "trade associations."
And who supported restrictions on coins? Well, the AIA, Lawyer's Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation, a few professors and students from NYU (Home of Pro-Restriction CPAC member Joan Connelly) and foreign archaeo-bloggers like David Gill and Paul Barford.
Contrast this with the one thousand nine hundred (1,900) plus public comments opposed to the extension of import restrictions on ancient coins.
Given this disparity, one can only ask: What gives? Why has the State Department disadvantaged the interests of American collectors and the small businesses of the numismatic trade by imposing hard to meet documentation requirements when the support for such restrictions is so limited?
And more to the point, has State Department Cultural Heritage Center staff told the political appointees at State and the diplomats at the Italian Embassy how thin the support actually is for restrictions?
Capitoline Venus at NGA: The Pretty Face of Cultural Exchange Could Use a Better Perch
The State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has posted a video on its website about the loan of the Capitoline Venus to the National Gallery of Art. See
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid756595811001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAAr4PECyE~,2SkcYDwPFGO281KN1MzLpKHKfKpAnM_B&bclid=0&bctid=1034206751001 and http://exchanges.state.gov/videos/cultural-programs-videos/the-capitoline-venus.html
The Cultural Heritage Center website suggests that Venus is visiting the NGA due to the renewed MOU with Italy, but the video itself and the literature for the exhibit make no such claim. Moreover, restrictions on the movements of Italian artifacts into the United States seem antithetical to the concept of cultural exchange. I'm all for sending American art to be displayed in Italy in return, but not for restrictions on American citizens importing ancient art, particularly when the Italian Government imposes no similar restrictions on its owns citizens.
Anyway, its wrong for me make the ageless goddess into a political pawn. Instead, let me say that I wish that the NGA, which is usually known for its beautiful displays, had given Venus a better perch upon which we could admire her. Instead of looking down at us from a nice marbled niche (as depicted in the NGA brochure), in reality she sits there in the middle of the common area staring at the dome of the West Building like an out of place tourist. Is that any way to treat such a lady? What a shame.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid756595811001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAAr4PECyE~,2SkcYDwPFGO281KN1MzLpKHKfKpAnM_B&bclid=0&bctid=1034206751001 and http://exchanges.state.gov/videos/cultural-programs-videos/the-capitoline-venus.html
The Cultural Heritage Center website suggests that Venus is visiting the NGA due to the renewed MOU with Italy, but the video itself and the literature for the exhibit make no such claim. Moreover, restrictions on the movements of Italian artifacts into the United States seem antithetical to the concept of cultural exchange. I'm all for sending American art to be displayed in Italy in return, but not for restrictions on American citizens importing ancient art, particularly when the Italian Government imposes no similar restrictions on its owns citizens.
Anyway, its wrong for me make the ageless goddess into a political pawn. Instead, let me say that I wish that the NGA, which is usually known for its beautiful displays, had given Venus a better perch upon which we could admire her. Instead of looking down at us from a nice marbled niche (as depicted in the NGA brochure), in reality she sits there in the middle of the common area staring at the dome of the West Building like an out of place tourist. Is that any way to treat such a lady? What a shame.
Italian Mismanagement of Cultural Patrimony
The Art Newspaper reports that Italian auditors have concluded that the Italian cultural establishment has mismanaged the country's archaeological sites. See
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Culture+ministry+condemned+over+running+of+archaeological+sites/24204
One suspects that given Italy's ongoing financial crisis (even worse than our own) there will be no more money any time soon to help fix the problem. And even if money were plentiful, one wonders whether the Italian bureaucracy would ever allow real reform. The Art Newspaper has certainly chronicled elsewhere bureaucratic resistance to any reforms at all.
All this again underscores the utter foolishness of the State Department's recent extension of the MOU with Italy and its expansion to include certain coins.
Archaeologists claim that import restrictions are necessary to encourage the preservation of archaeological sites and encourage research. But how is this possible if the Italian state mismanages even major sites like Pompeii so badly and there is no money to help conduct this research?
Meanwhile, import restrictions make it far more difficult for American collectors and institutions to continue their own private efforts to study and preserve ancient artifacts and coinage. Thus, they have the perverse effect of actually working against the goals they supposedly were put in place to help foster.
It's high time for the U.S. Government to conduct a real cost-benefit analysis of these MOU's. Is throwing a bone to cultural bureaucrats and archaeological fanatics really worth the cost to collectors, museums and the small businesses of the coin and antiquities trade? And do such restrictions advance or detract from the advancement of knowledge and the preservation of artifacts from the past? And finally, in this time of financial austerity should the U.S. taxpayer foot the bill for enforcing regulations against importing artifacts of "Italian type" when the inept and corrupt Italian cultural bureaucracy cannot even adequately take care of what it has?
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Culture+ministry+condemned+over+running+of+archaeological+sites/24204
One suspects that given Italy's ongoing financial crisis (even worse than our own) there will be no more money any time soon to help fix the problem. And even if money were plentiful, one wonders whether the Italian bureaucracy would ever allow real reform. The Art Newspaper has certainly chronicled elsewhere bureaucratic resistance to any reforms at all.
All this again underscores the utter foolishness of the State Department's recent extension of the MOU with Italy and its expansion to include certain coins.
Archaeologists claim that import restrictions are necessary to encourage the preservation of archaeological sites and encourage research. But how is this possible if the Italian state mismanages even major sites like Pompeii so badly and there is no money to help conduct this research?
Meanwhile, import restrictions make it far more difficult for American collectors and institutions to continue their own private efforts to study and preserve ancient artifacts and coinage. Thus, they have the perverse effect of actually working against the goals they supposedly were put in place to help foster.
It's high time for the U.S. Government to conduct a real cost-benefit analysis of these MOU's. Is throwing a bone to cultural bureaucrats and archaeological fanatics really worth the cost to collectors, museums and the small businesses of the coin and antiquities trade? And do such restrictions advance or detract from the advancement of knowledge and the preservation of artifacts from the past? And finally, in this time of financial austerity should the U.S. taxpayer foot the bill for enforcing regulations against importing artifacts of "Italian type" when the inept and corrupt Italian cultural bureaucracy cannot even adequately take care of what it has?
Etruscans at Nat Geo: Cultural Exchange for Cash
Today, I had the opportunity to visit an exhibit about the Etruscans at the National Geographic Society. See http://events.nationalgeographic.com/events/exhibits/2011/06/10/etruscans/
The artifacts came from the Cambi Collection and National Museum of Archaeology, Florence, Italy, but the exhibit itself seems to be some sort of commercial venture. See
http://www.exhibitsdevelopment.com/brochures/Etruscan%20pagebypage.pdf
There were some interesting artifacts, but most of them were frankly second rate. The interpretive material was fine, but no brochures were to be found anywhere. And it cost $8 to enter ($6 for Nat Geo members).
This is still all fine and good, but I hope the Italians and the State Department are not going to claim this exhibit was sent as a gesture of good will due to the MOU imposing import restrictions on Italian cultural goods. Instead, the motivation appears to be collecting cold, hard cash.
The artifacts came from the Cambi Collection and National Museum of Archaeology, Florence, Italy, but the exhibit itself seems to be some sort of commercial venture. See
http://www.exhibitsdevelopment.com/brochures/Etruscan%20pagebypage.pdf
There were some interesting artifacts, but most of them were frankly second rate. The interpretive material was fine, but no brochures were to be found anywhere. And it cost $8 to enter ($6 for Nat Geo members).
This is still all fine and good, but I hope the Italians and the State Department are not going to claim this exhibit was sent as a gesture of good will due to the MOU imposing import restrictions on Italian cultural goods. Instead, the motivation appears to be collecting cold, hard cash.
"Any chance of using any influence you might have to get all the Medici photos published?"
So asks the only collector congratulating Archaeo-blogger David Gill on his award from the AIA. See http://lootingmatters.blogspot.com/2011/06/archaeological-institute-of-america.html
But why should Gill accede to such a request? He's gained much of his notoriety by ambushing unsuspecting collectors and auction houses with pictures from the Medici archives that he evidently has special access to. During the CPAC hearing on a renewal of the Italian MOU, lawyer Bill Pearlstein asked CPAC to condition any renewal on making these pictures public so that this looted material could be identified by the market. We don't know if CPAC adopted that suggestion in its recommendations to ECA Assistant Secretary Ann Stock, but we do know that the State Department did not incorporate that reasonable request in the revised MOU with Italy.
So, David Gill should also give thanks to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Cultural Heritage Center for allowing him to continue his game of "gotcha" and the notoriety embarrassing others gives him.
But why should Gill accede to such a request? He's gained much of his notoriety by ambushing unsuspecting collectors and auction houses with pictures from the Medici archives that he evidently has special access to. During the CPAC hearing on a renewal of the Italian MOU, lawyer Bill Pearlstein asked CPAC to condition any renewal on making these pictures public so that this looted material could be identified by the market. We don't know if CPAC adopted that suggestion in its recommendations to ECA Assistant Secretary Ann Stock, but we do know that the State Department did not incorporate that reasonable request in the revised MOU with Italy.
So, David Gill should also give thanks to the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Cultural Heritage Center for allowing him to continue his game of "gotcha" and the notoriety embarrassing others gives him.
Posters No Substitute for Publication Efforts
Coins Weekly is advertising a call for posters to publicise the theme of �Numismatics and Archaeology: coins, stratigraphies and contexts� at a conference being held in Italy. See http://www.coinsweekly.com/en/News/4?&id=577
But posters are no substitute for actual publication efforts. During consideration of the renewal of the Italian MOU, the numismatic trade presented to CPAC a report cataloguing in detail Italy's poor stewardship of the coins already in State collections. For instance, a very cursory survey of Italian museums reveals at least 27 institutions with respectable numismatic holdings, but which have failed to publish full catalogues of even part of them.
It's even my understanding that no one has ever gotten around to publishing the coins excavated in Rome even before Italy became a unified nation-- some 150 years ago!
In my opinion, it is cynical in the extreme to claim as archaeologists have that import restrictions on "coins of Italian type" are necessary to further numismatic research when Italy's record in that regard is so poor and will certainly not improve anytime soon given the extreme budgetary pressures facing Italy's cultural establishment.
But posters are no substitute for actual publication efforts. During consideration of the renewal of the Italian MOU, the numismatic trade presented to CPAC a report cataloguing in detail Italy's poor stewardship of the coins already in State collections. For instance, a very cursory survey of Italian museums reveals at least 27 institutions with respectable numismatic holdings, but which have failed to publish full catalogues of even part of them.
It's even my understanding that no one has ever gotten around to publishing the coins excavated in Rome even before Italy became a unified nation-- some 150 years ago!
In my opinion, it is cynical in the extreme to claim as archaeologists have that import restrictions on "coins of Italian type" are necessary to further numismatic research when Italy's record in that regard is so poor and will certainly not improve anytime soon given the extreme budgetary pressures facing Italy's cultural establishment.
Labels:
CPAC,
double standards,
Italian MOU,
Italy,
numismatics,
poor stewardship
Robert Korver Resigns from CPAC to Protest New Restrictions on Coins of Italian Type
Robert Korver has resigned from his position on the Cultural Property Advisory Committee to protest the State Departement Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs' and U.S. Customs' decision to impose new import restrictions on "coins of Italian type." See http://www.coinworld.com/articles/korver-resigns-from-cpac-in-protest-over-impo/
Such coins had been previously exempted from restrictions in 2001 and 2006. Based on his resignation, it again appears that CPAC recommended against import restrictions, but ECA rejected that advice-- just as it first did on the Cypriot renewal of 2007.
Was this action justified by the facts on the ground (which if anything suggest that all restrictions should be scaled back), or did the bureaucrats at ECA merely act to try to help justify their earlier controversial decision on Cypriot coins and/or what they want to do anyway on the proposed MOU with Greece?
Korver had served on CPAC since 2003.
Hopefully, ECA will be called to account either by Congress or in the pending ACCG test case in Baltimore.
Such coins had been previously exempted from restrictions in 2001 and 2006. Based on his resignation, it again appears that CPAC recommended against import restrictions, but ECA rejected that advice-- just as it first did on the Cypriot renewal of 2007.
Was this action justified by the facts on the ground (which if anything suggest that all restrictions should be scaled back), or did the bureaucrats at ECA merely act to try to help justify their earlier controversial decision on Cypriot coins and/or what they want to do anyway on the proposed MOU with Greece?
Korver had served on CPAC since 2003.
Hopefully, ECA will be called to account either by Congress or in the pending ACCG test case in Baltimore.
Labels:
bureacracy,
coins,
CPAC,
Cyprus MOU,
ECA,
Import Restrictions,
Italian MOU,
transparency
Italian Modern Art Museum Director Asks for Asylum
An Italian modern art museum director has "asked" Germany for asylum given the poor state of affairs for the arts in his own country. See
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110205/od_afp/italygermanyculturemuseumasylumoffbeat
Yet, the US State Department discounted Italy's inablitiy to care for its own cultural patrimony in renewing and expanding its current MOU with Italy.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110205/od_afp/italygermanyculturemuseumasylumoffbeat
Yet, the US State Department discounted Italy's inablitiy to care for its own cultural patrimony in renewing and expanding its current MOU with Italy.
The Archaeological Lobby's Role Models
Just turn on the news and one can see what the people think of the government of one of archaeology's role models, Egypt.
What about some of the others: Italy, Greece, Cyprus and China?
All have been in the news lately. Italy is as dysfunctional as ever. Pompeii is falling down. The cynical Italian public has become expert at maneuvering around bureaucratic rules, just as Prime Minister Berlusconi did himself when he performed unauthorized construction on his archaeologically sensitive property. Yet, the AIA and Italian Cultural Bureaucracy can at least celebrate their great victory against the small businesses of the numismatic trade and US collectors, all courtesy of the State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and its Cultural Heritage Center.
Greece is bankrupt. Museum guards recently rioted on the Acropolis for back-pay. Ordinary Greeks are fed up with over regulation, cronyism and corruption. Yet, at a recent CPAC hearing, the AIA was out in force to cheer on a bloated Greek cultural delegation that included a representative of a well-connected private institution, the Alpha Bank. Even as the AIA pressed for yet more restrictions on American coin collectors, none of the archaeological community so much as acknowleded the fact that the Alpha Bank regularly purchases on the open market the same sort of unprovenanced ancient coins that the AIA hopes to make taboo.
The Greek Cypriot Government seems as unwilling to compromise as ever when it comes to the sad division of the country. Yet, this division is cited as the reason it is so important to continue import restrictions on cultural goods. But while Americans are precluded from importing unprovenance Cypriot artifacts, including coins, the Cypriot cultural bureaucracy turns a blind eye when connected Cypriot collectors buy artifacts looted from archaeological sites on the Island. And let us not forget about the private Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation and its continuing ability to purchase unprovenanced ancient coins on the open market. More endemic cronyism of the Greek sort.
Finally, there is China. The Chinese Government encourages the rising middle class to collect ancient artifacts to help promote nationalism. Sure, a few peasants get the death sentence for looting, but Chinese auction houses connected to government officials and the People's Liberation Army have flourished. Yet, the AIA has supported import restrictions aimed at precluding Americans from collecting such items. And our State Department, as always, is only too willing to oblige.
No wonder it's so easy to be cynical about the efforts of the AIA and its allies in the State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to clamp down on American collectors and the small businesses of the numismatic trade.
What about some of the others: Italy, Greece, Cyprus and China?
All have been in the news lately. Italy is as dysfunctional as ever. Pompeii is falling down. The cynical Italian public has become expert at maneuvering around bureaucratic rules, just as Prime Minister Berlusconi did himself when he performed unauthorized construction on his archaeologically sensitive property. Yet, the AIA and Italian Cultural Bureaucracy can at least celebrate their great victory against the small businesses of the numismatic trade and US collectors, all courtesy of the State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and its Cultural Heritage Center.
Greece is bankrupt. Museum guards recently rioted on the Acropolis for back-pay. Ordinary Greeks are fed up with over regulation, cronyism and corruption. Yet, at a recent CPAC hearing, the AIA was out in force to cheer on a bloated Greek cultural delegation that included a representative of a well-connected private institution, the Alpha Bank. Even as the AIA pressed for yet more restrictions on American coin collectors, none of the archaeological community so much as acknowleded the fact that the Alpha Bank regularly purchases on the open market the same sort of unprovenanced ancient coins that the AIA hopes to make taboo.
The Greek Cypriot Government seems as unwilling to compromise as ever when it comes to the sad division of the country. Yet, this division is cited as the reason it is so important to continue import restrictions on cultural goods. But while Americans are precluded from importing unprovenance Cypriot artifacts, including coins, the Cypriot cultural bureaucracy turns a blind eye when connected Cypriot collectors buy artifacts looted from archaeological sites on the Island. And let us not forget about the private Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation and its continuing ability to purchase unprovenanced ancient coins on the open market. More endemic cronyism of the Greek sort.
Finally, there is China. The Chinese Government encourages the rising middle class to collect ancient artifacts to help promote nationalism. Sure, a few peasants get the death sentence for looting, but Chinese auction houses connected to government officials and the People's Liberation Army have flourished. Yet, the AIA has supported import restrictions aimed at precluding Americans from collecting such items. And our State Department, as always, is only too willing to oblige.
No wonder it's so easy to be cynical about the efforts of the AIA and its allies in the State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to clamp down on American collectors and the small businesses of the numismatic trade.
Labels:
AIA,
China,
China MOU,
Cyprus,
Cyprus MOU,
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What is the Impact of Import Restrictions on "Coins of Italian Type?"
Many collectors have expressed understandable concern about the impact of new import restrictions on "coins of Italian type." Hopefully, this overview will be of some assistance.
I. What Coins Are Now Restricted?
The January 19, 2011 Federal Register contains a notice that restrictions are extended to certain coins of Italian type:
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2011/pdf/2011-882.pdf
The categories of coins subject to the restrictions are as follows:
F. Coins of Italian Types�A type
catalogue of listed currency and coins
can be found in N.K. Rutter et al. (eds.),
Historia Numorum: Italy (London,
2001). Others appear in G.F. Hill Coins
of Ancient Sicily (Westminster, 1903).
1. Lumps of bronze (Aes Rude)�
Irregular lumps of bronze used as an
early medium of exchange in Italy from
the 9th century B.C.
2. Bronze bars (Ramo Secco and Aes
Signatum)�Cast bronze bars (whole or
cut) used as a media of exchange in
central Italy and Etruria from the 5th
century B.C.
3. Cast coins (Aes Grave)�Cast
bronze coins of Rome, Etruscan, and
Italian cities from the 4th century B.C.
4. Struck coins�Struck coins of the
Roman Republic and Etruscan cities
produced in gold, silver, and bronze
from the 3rd century B.C. to c. 211 B.C.,
including the ��Romano-Campanian��
coinage.
5. Struck colonial coinage�Struck
bronze coins of Roman republican and
early imperial colonies and municipia
in Italy, Sicily, and Sardinia from the
3rd century B.C. to c. A.D. 37.
6. Coins of the Greek cities�Coins of
the Greek cities in the southern Italian
peninsula and in Sicily (Magna
Graecia), cast or struck in gold, silver,
and bronze, from the late 6th century
B.C. to c. 200 B.C.
Source: Federal Register: January 19, 2011 (Volume 76, Number 12)
[Rules and Regulations] Pages 3012-3013.
Accordingly, although the import of coins of great interest to collectors of Greek coins are restricted, the import of most Republican and Imperial coins remains unrestricted.
II. What are the impact of Restrictions?
The above restricted coins of Italian types can only be imported into the United States with an export certificate issued by the Republic of Italy or �satisfactory evidence� demonstrating that the coins were exported from or were outside of Italy at least 10 years prior to importation into the US or that the Coins were exported from or were outside of Italy before January 19, 2011. What constitutes �satisfactory evidence� is ultimately left to the discretion of Customs, but usually takes the form of a declaration by the importer and a statement by the consigner.
Source: Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (�CPIA�) � 307, 19 U.S.C. � 2606.
III. Open Questions
Under the CPIA, import restrictions only apply to coins �first found in the ground� in Italy. See CPIA � 302 (2). However, if a coin of Italian type was excavated outside of Italy in a country that declares anything found in the ground to be state property (i.e., Egypt, Greece or Turkey), it may still be subject to seizure pursuant to the National Stolen Property Act and other provisions of U.S. law. The same principal would apply to a non-restricted Roman coin proven to have been illicitly excavated in Italy in violation of that country's patrimony laws.
The more relevant question is how U.S. Customs and Border Protection (�CBP�) will treat "coins of Italian type" which do not have a known find spot and/or whose whereabouts cannot be traced back before January 19, 2011, i.e., presumably an ever increasing number of coins as time passes. In the test case brought by the Ancient Coin Collectors Guild concerning Cypriot and Chinese import restrictions, CBP has taken the position that �country of origin� for purpose of the CPIA is synonymous with country of manufacture because Cypriot and Chinese coins may be found where they are manufactured. The Court has yet to rule on the validity of this claim.
There is another question related to coins already in the United States. Import restrictions should not apply to them, but what happens if they are sent abroad? Can they be imported back into the United States without the usual certifications? Presumably so, but again we will only know once CBP confronts the issue.
There also is the issue of the overzealous CBP officials. For example, one recently retired official in CBP's New York office was known to reject the certifications authorized under the CPIA. Instead, he apparently often demanded that the importer produce pictures of artifacts from auction catalogues to prove that an artifact was out of the country of origin as of the date of the restrictions. Obviously, if applied to coins, this would pose a major burden to importers.
In summary, these unprecedented restrictions promise to be a major headache for everyone, except, of course, their proponents in the archaeological community and the Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Cultural Heritage Center. The best I can suggest is to document your coins as being out of Italy before January 19, 2011 as well as you can and only purchase coins from established sellers.
I. What Coins Are Now Restricted?
The January 19, 2011 Federal Register contains a notice that restrictions are extended to certain coins of Italian type:
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2011/pdf/2011-882.pdf
The categories of coins subject to the restrictions are as follows:
F. Coins of Italian Types�A type
catalogue of listed currency and coins
can be found in N.K. Rutter et al. (eds.),
Historia Numorum: Italy (London,
2001). Others appear in G.F. Hill Coins
of Ancient Sicily (Westminster, 1903).
1. Lumps of bronze (Aes Rude)�
Irregular lumps of bronze used as an
early medium of exchange in Italy from
the 9th century B.C.
2. Bronze bars (Ramo Secco and Aes
Signatum)�Cast bronze bars (whole or
cut) used as a media of exchange in
central Italy and Etruria from the 5th
century B.C.
3. Cast coins (Aes Grave)�Cast
bronze coins of Rome, Etruscan, and
Italian cities from the 4th century B.C.
4. Struck coins�Struck coins of the
Roman Republic and Etruscan cities
produced in gold, silver, and bronze
from the 3rd century B.C. to c. 211 B.C.,
including the ��Romano-Campanian��
coinage.
5. Struck colonial coinage�Struck
bronze coins of Roman republican and
early imperial colonies and municipia
in Italy, Sicily, and Sardinia from the
3rd century B.C. to c. A.D. 37.
6. Coins of the Greek cities�Coins of
the Greek cities in the southern Italian
peninsula and in Sicily (Magna
Graecia), cast or struck in gold, silver,
and bronze, from the late 6th century
B.C. to c. 200 B.C.
Source: Federal Register: January 19, 2011 (Volume 76, Number 12)
[Rules and Regulations] Pages 3012-3013.
Accordingly, although the import of coins of great interest to collectors of Greek coins are restricted, the import of most Republican and Imperial coins remains unrestricted.
II. What are the impact of Restrictions?
The above restricted coins of Italian types can only be imported into the United States with an export certificate issued by the Republic of Italy or �satisfactory evidence� demonstrating that the coins were exported from or were outside of Italy at least 10 years prior to importation into the US or that the Coins were exported from or were outside of Italy before January 19, 2011. What constitutes �satisfactory evidence� is ultimately left to the discretion of Customs, but usually takes the form of a declaration by the importer and a statement by the consigner.
Source: Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (�CPIA�) � 307, 19 U.S.C. � 2606.
III. Open Questions
Under the CPIA, import restrictions only apply to coins �first found in the ground� in Italy. See CPIA � 302 (2). However, if a coin of Italian type was excavated outside of Italy in a country that declares anything found in the ground to be state property (i.e., Egypt, Greece or Turkey), it may still be subject to seizure pursuant to the National Stolen Property Act and other provisions of U.S. law. The same principal would apply to a non-restricted Roman coin proven to have been illicitly excavated in Italy in violation of that country's patrimony laws.
The more relevant question is how U.S. Customs and Border Protection (�CBP�) will treat "coins of Italian type" which do not have a known find spot and/or whose whereabouts cannot be traced back before January 19, 2011, i.e., presumably an ever increasing number of coins as time passes. In the test case brought by the Ancient Coin Collectors Guild concerning Cypriot and Chinese import restrictions, CBP has taken the position that �country of origin� for purpose of the CPIA is synonymous with country of manufacture because Cypriot and Chinese coins may be found where they are manufactured. The Court has yet to rule on the validity of this claim.
There is another question related to coins already in the United States. Import restrictions should not apply to them, but what happens if they are sent abroad? Can they be imported back into the United States without the usual certifications? Presumably so, but again we will only know once CBP confronts the issue.
There also is the issue of the overzealous CBP officials. For example, one recently retired official in CBP's New York office was known to reject the certifications authorized under the CPIA. Instead, he apparently often demanded that the importer produce pictures of artifacts from auction catalogues to prove that an artifact was out of the country of origin as of the date of the restrictions. Obviously, if applied to coins, this would pose a major burden to importers.
In summary, these unprecedented restrictions promise to be a major headache for everyone, except, of course, their proponents in the archaeological community and the Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Cultural Heritage Center. The best I can suggest is to document your coins as being out of Italy before January 19, 2011 as well as you can and only purchase coins from established sellers.
Obama Executive Order on Regulatory Issues
President Obama has released an executive order aimed at curbing burdensome regulations, increasing public participation and an open exchange of ideas. See
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/01/18/improving-regulation-and-regulatory-review-executive-order
I would submit that the recent decision of the Obama Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and Customs and Border Protection to ignore prior precedent and to extend import restrictions to "coins of Italian type" violates every precept the new executive order purports to support. See
http://ordinarymag.blogspot.com/2011/01/state-cbp-take-direction-from-aia-on.html and http://ordinarymag.blogspot.com/2011/01/state-department-imposes-import.html
The Executive Order mandates that the State Department and Customs and Border Protection should identify such burdensome regulations for possible elimination. One suspects, however, that the archaeological lobby will do all it can to make sure these regulations do not receive the scrutiny they so richly deserve. After all, the point of these regulations is to be as burdensome as possible as far as they are concerned.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/01/18/improving-regulation-and-regulatory-review-executive-order
I would submit that the recent decision of the Obama Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and Customs and Border Protection to ignore prior precedent and to extend import restrictions to "coins of Italian type" violates every precept the new executive order purports to support. See
http://ordinarymag.blogspot.com/2011/01/state-cbp-take-direction-from-aia-on.html and http://ordinarymag.blogspot.com/2011/01/state-department-imposes-import.html
The Executive Order mandates that the State Department and Customs and Border Protection should identify such burdensome regulations for possible elimination. One suspects, however, that the archaeological lobby will do all it can to make sure these regulations do not receive the scrutiny they so richly deserve. After all, the point of these regulations is to be as burdensome as possible as far as they are concerned.
Labels:
AIA,
ancient coins,
Archaeologists,
bureacracy,
Import Restrictions,
Italian MOU
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