[MSN] Letter to the Editor of the Cyprus Mail RE "Coin collectors furious over trade restrictions"

[Museum Security Network Mailing list]

Dear Sir:

 

I am writing on behalf of the International Association of Professional
Numismatists ("IAPN") with respect to a story entitled "Coin Collectors
Furious over Trade Restrictions."  IAPN is one of the plaintiffs in the
case against the U.S. State Department mentioned in the article.  I hope
this letter will provide your readers with additional background with
regard to the lawsuit.  

 

IAPN was founded in the aftermath of the Second World War to promote
trade and fellowship amongst professional numismatists from countries
that had so recently been at war.  IAPN members believe that the
interchange of cultural materials, among individuals and nations, has
contributed throughout history to the knowledge, understanding and
appreciation of human civilization.  Today, IAPN has more than 114
member firms situated in all five continents and twenty-three countries.

 

IAPN, like the other plaintiffs, opposes looting of archaeological sites
and supports Cyprus' own self-help measures to protect its cultural
patrimony.  IAPN would, however, propose that such efforts be directed
specifically at protecting archaeological sites and that Cyprus should
investigate successful programmes like the British Treasure Trove and
Portable Antiquities Scheme to ensure that archaeological artifacts
found by members of the general public outside of archaeological sites
are properly recorded.  

 

The restrictions in question are controversial because their provenance
requirements may very well make it impractical to legally import ancient
coins of Cypriot type into the United States even though such coins are
regularly found outside of Cyprus and many have resided in collections
abroad for years.  Thus, while American IAPN members, American
collectors and American museums will likely be precluded from legally
importing ancient coins of Cypriot type into the USA, collectors within
the European Union (including Cypriot collectors and the Bank of Cyprus
Cultural Foundation Museum) will continue to be free to import such
coins into their own countries without any showing of provenance.   

 

Given the effect of the restrictions, IAPN and the other plaintiffs need
some assurance that the U.S. State Department acted properly before
imposing them.  Unfortunately, IAPN and others suspect the State
Department may very well have imposed the restrictions against the
advice of its own experts on the Cultural Property Advisory Committee
and without the proper approvals from those in authority.  All other
efforts to learn more about the decision from the State Department have
failed.  As a result, IAPN and the other plaintiffs were forced to turn
to the Courts as a last resort to gain meaningful information about the
decision.  We hope that Cyprus Mail readers will sympathize with such
efforts.  Public acceptance of the decision amongst collectors and the
small businesses of the numismatic trade within the United States will
certainly depend on it.  

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Paul Davies

President, IAPN

 

 

Peter K. Tompa 

Dillingham & Murphy, LLP

1155 Connecticut Avenue, NW

Washington, D.C. 20036

Telephone: (202) 835-9880

Facsimile: (202) 835-9885

pkt at dillinghammurphy.com

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