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Approved by the
Board of Trustees 10/22/05
AMERICAN
NUMISMATIC SOCIETY
STATEMENT
ON CULTURAL PROPERTY CONCERNS
October
22, 2005
The American Numismatic Society recognizes the importance of legislative
and treaty provisions aimed at curbing illicit traffic in archaeological
artifacts.
At the same time the Society is aware that in the case of coins such measures
can have the unintended effects of placing an undue burden on lawful collecting,
legitimate numismatic trade, and scholarly research.
Historically, coins were produced by the millions and they survive by
the hundreds of thousands. Since the Renaissance coins have been avidly
collected and studied by princes, scholars, and historically-minded hobbyists
alike. While the illicit recovery of coins from archaeological sites and
the failure to record hoards properly continues to do irreparable harm
to numismatic scholarship, collecting and dealing in coins that have been
in private hands for many years does not contribute to the destruction
of cultural heritage. Likewise, because most coins in private collections
have been traded and held without any provenance, it is unreasonable to
assume that a coin is stolen, illegally exported, or illegally imported
merely because the holder cannot establish a chain of custody beyond receipt
from a reputable source. Taken together, such considerations argue that
within the world of artifacts, coins as a class do, in fact, stand apart.
Accordingly,
The American Numismatic Society urges that in cultural property deliberations
over the importation of artifacts, full attention should be given to these
exceptional factors that pertain to historical coins, so as to ensure
the continuance of legitimate collecting, the protection of the cultural
heritage of countries negatively affected by the ongoing trade in illicit
antiquities, and the preservation, analysis and dissemination of knowledge
of the past.
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The
American Numismatic Society