If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Coin Collectors Sue State Department
NEWS OF INTEREST TO COLLECTORS
The struggle to preserve your right to collect ancient coins began almost the day Classical Coins opened, with the foundation of Unidroit-L [ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Unidroit-L/ ], an Internet discussion list focusing on cultural property law. Shortly thereafter I joined the Ancient Coin Collectors Guild [ http://accg.us/ ], in which I presently chair the International Affairs Committee and am a member of the Board of Directors. The United States is a signatory to the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Importation and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. In 1984 Congress passed the Cultural Property Implementation Act (CPIA) implementing provisions of this Convention into US law. The UNESCO Convention was then, and remains, highly controversial because its definitions of "cultural property" are so broad as to include common items such as coins, printed books and even postage stamps. This excessive scope was justly criticized as including virtually everything made by the hand of man that is more than 100 years old. Strong objections were raised against changing US traditions of individual rights and free trade, in what was assailed as a strategy to draw the US into enforcing export control laws of other nations. Amid much concern and trepidation, Congress addressed how this could be done in a manner fair to all. The solution followed American traditions that responsible decision making required that a broad cross section of the public should be involved. Congress established the Cultural Property Advisory Committee to advise the President, or those to whom he delegated his authority, about requests from other nations to restrict importation of cultural property. Impartiality and fairness would be ensured by specifying broad and inclusive membership for this Committee, and placing it under management of the State Department. For the first ten years, this system worked as planned and responsible, impartial decisions were made. Meanwhile the conservation lobby, frustrated by rejection of the 1995 Unidroit Convention whose extreme demands prevented its adoption by any major collecting nation, sought alternative means to achieve their goals. They found a promising opportunity in the State Department. Congress assumed that the State Department could be trusted to be fair and impartial in administering the CPIA, thus no specific safeguards or oversight were provided to ensure this. State Department staff had wide discretion in administration of the CPIA and the Cultural Property Advisory Committee. If the support of these officials could be gained, the conservation lobby's objective of restricting and eventually banning private collecting could be pursued through unpublicized administrative decisions. This proved to be a successful strategy. The events of the next ten years are described in my blog, http://classicalcoins.blogspot.com/ . Matters came to a head on Friday July 13th 2007, when the State Department imposed restrictions on importation of ancient coins "of Cypriot types" issued before 330 a.d. This unprecedented action to include ancient coins in extending existing import restrictions was issued without stating justification or reasons. The State Department reversed its long standing prior position exempting coins from such restrictions, even though all factual and practical reasons justifying the exemption remain unchanged. All attempts to get an explanation from the State Department as to how and why this decision was made, including inquiries from Senators and Congressmen, have failed. On November 15, 2007 the Ancient Coin Collectors Guild, the International Association of Professional Numismatists and the Professional Numismatists Guild jointly filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the State Department. This seeks disclosure of information relating to requests from Cyprus, China and Italy because, in each case, apparent irregularities in the way these requests were received and managed had caused significant concerns. Further details can be found at http://accg.us/issues/news/foia-suit-filed-against-dos . The Ancient Coin Collectors Guild is the only organization actively defending the rights of collectors against the steady and insidious encroachment of legislation and regulations aimed at restricting and perhaps eventually banning private collecting. This is an expensive process, both in terms of the time donated by our volunteer staff and the funds required to pursue legal action. I urge every reader to join the ACCG ( http://accg.us/ ) and to contribute generously toward this worthy cause. Dave Welsh Classical Coins www.classicalcoins.com |
Ads |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
State Department Stonewalling | Dave[_2_] | Coins | 0 | October 27th 07 07:12 AM |
State Department Misconduct Charged | Dave[_2_] | Coins | 0 | July 30th 07 10:33 PM |
WTB: PCGS Collectors Club State Quarters | Jim Seymour | Coins | 0 | August 2nd 05 06:55 PM |
US Fifty STate Quarters Collectors Map NEW SEALED | Ebayer | General | 0 | June 21st 05 11:32 PM |
State Department Used Book Sale | Dbalexandercs | Books | 3 | February 27th 04 06:03 PM |