By Andrew Colin Renfrew for the Guardian

One of the unsung successes of this government is the Portable Antiquities Scheme, which records archaeological objects found by members of the public and makes that information available for all on its online database. The scheme recently recorded its 300,000th find. But all that is now under threat, an unintended consequence of this year’s comprehensive spending review by which the government fixes its funding for the next three years.

Although the spending review proved to be much better for museums and the heritage than was feared - a tribute to the negotiating ability of James Purnell, the new secretary of state - the Portable Antiquities Scheme comes under the aegis of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, the one organization that was singled out for cuts in the spending review, as its grant is being reduced by 25% in real terms over the next three years. (more…)

Some of the more radical members of the archaeological community have claimed that the ancient coin market is saturated with coins fresh out of the ground, ripped illicitly from archaeological sites and spirited to America by a seedy underground of Mafia and/or Terrorist operatives. Of course, collectors and dealers know that is pure rubbish and the sort of thing that you would read in a sensationalist tabloid newspaper. The number of coins that have been bought and sold legitimately on the world market over the past 600 years is staggering. It literally runs into the millions of specimens.

In the 19th century, the market was frequently reported on in the Royal Numismatic Society’s journal, the Numismatic Chronicle. Each issue of the NC lists the sale of collections of ancient coins with numbers often in the tens of thousands of pieces offered. This went on systematically for the better part of a century as the huge collections of European nobility amassed in the 15th through 18th centuries were gradually dispersed. Where did all those coins go to? Quite simply into other collections, and other collections and other collections. The typical ancient coin in the market today has passed through the hands of scores of collectors. (more…)

Paul Davies, president of the International Association of Professional Numismatists, commented on the joint ACCG/IAPN/PNG law suit in a letter to Cyprus Mail editor Kosta Pavlowitch. The text of that letter follows:

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. (more…)

NEW YORK – For Classical numismatists, the New Year will begin on an exceptional note: the sale of the Lawrence R. Stack Collection of Ancient Greek Coins. To be held January 14, 2008 in New York City, the sale brings together a veritable pantheon of outstanding rarities, marvelous examples of the celator’s art and historic and important pieces.

Formed with a discerning eye, the collection places special emphasis on the gold and silver issues of Magna Graecia and Sicily. Collectors of early issues will find a lovely group of Archaic Staters of Tarentum, Metapontion, Poseidonia, Sybaris, Kaulonia and Kroton. Those who fancy Greek gold will be pleased with the 4th to 3rd Century B.C. issues of Etruria, Tarentum, Metapontion, the Brettii, Akragas and Syracuse. The Sicilian silver, meanwhile, is exceptional featuring pieces by such famous engravers as “the Master of the Leaf,” Herakleidas, Eumenos, Phrygillos and Euainetos.

As for the Titans of Ancient coinage, the collection features signed and unsigned Dekadrachms of Syracuse, including a Demaretion; a Carthagian Dekadrachm; Oktadrachms of the Bisaltai and Abdera and Dodekadrachms of the Derrones.

Other highlights of the collection include a rare Chersonesos Tetradrachm of Miltiades II, an exceptional group of Athenian Wappenmünzen and Archaic owls; rare Boiotian Staters and Fractions; and Arkadian Fractions. Moving to the East, the sale features a high-grade array of Staters from Crete, an extremely rare gold Stater from Pergamon, and a highly-prized early gold Kyrene Stater of King Ptolemy I depicting the deified Alexander. Extensive historical and numismatic notes are given throughout the offering. (more…)

WASHINGTON — Wayne Sayles, a conservative Republican from Missouri who twice voted for President Bush, is none too pleased with the Bush administration these days. In fact, he says it’s trying to put him out of business.

Sayles has been collecting and selling ancient coins since 1967, and on Nov. 15, a group he heads sued the State Department, charging that its decision to restrict imports of ancient coins from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus is “a major offensive” against coin collectors that threatens his hobby.

“In a world where globalism is not just a trend but an irreversible fact of life, how can anyone justify turning America into an island of prohibition for something as innocuous as a common coin?” Sayles, the executive director of the Ancient Coin Collectors Guild in Gainesville, Mo., asked on his blog.

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