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Sunday,
January 28, 2007
Important Post From Wayne Sayles, ACCG Executive
Director
The following article is very
important to all of us. Please take the time to read.
Fellow
antiquarians;
January 25th, 2007 may well go down in the annals of
numismatic history as the Pearl Harbor of the Cultural Property War.
When the U.S. Department of State posted a notice in the Federal
Register that renewal of the import restrictions on cultural property from
Cyprus would be considered, Peter K. Tompa (Ancient Coin Collectors Guild
President)addressed the following concern in a letter to the Bureau of
Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). "It is unclear from the notice whether
new import restrictions on coins will be considered in the context of this
hearing to determine whether current restrictions on other archaeological and
ethnological artifacts will be extended.
"Coins had been exempted from
restrictions in the initial agreement five years ago. A reply from the
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State at ECA stated that "the
Department anticipates consideration of extension of the agreement as it
currently exists with respect to the categories of material." In other words,
coins were not added to the list of restricted items being considered.
In my capacity as ACCG Executive Director, I then sent a letter to the
Cultural Property Advisory Committee stating that since coins were not to be
included, the ACCG would not take a position on the request and would not
appear in person to comment during the public hearing. In other words, a quid
pro quo. I was not advised of any change in position.
On January 26th,
the day after the public hearing, ACCG received the following notice from ECA.
"On 25 and 26 January, 2007,the Cultural Property Advisory Committee
met to consider extending the bilateral agreement between the Government of the
United States and the Government of the Republic of Cyprus. Shortly before that
meeting, Cyprus submitted a request through normal diplomatic channels to amend
the Designated List of its cultural materials for which importation is already
restricted. The proposal is to include in the Designated List coins minted and
found in Cyprus that are more than 250 years old."
This action is a
shocking disappointment. It further undermines ACCG confidence in the Bureau of
Educational and Cultural Affairs that has eroded over two years of struggling
with constant stonewalling and departmental secrecy. Sandbagging a legitimate
nonprofit advocacy group, to circumvent an effective defense of its position,
is a tactic that sinks to a level that is intolerable.
In an effort to
diffuse the inevitable outrage, ECA has reopened the window for comment to run
through the close of business on Monday, February 6. If ever there was cause
for comment, it is now.
This request, if approved, will not only affect
ancient coins from Cyprus, but virtually all Medieval and early modern coins.
Worse, restrictions would set an irreversible precedent. The aggression of
cultural property nationalists knows no limits and there is no room left in the
collecting world for complacency. Every collector simply must take the time
to comment.
The best method is by Fax to
202-453-8803.
Address your comments to
Mr. Jay I.
Kislak, Chairman, Cultural Property Advisory Committee.
Please be
specific and be polite.
The ACCG provides a
free online Fax service for this purpose at http://accg.us/ If you avail yourself
of that service, a choice of sample letters will be offered or you can create
your own text in any standard browser. The process is fast, easy and
meaningful.
Our goal for this campaign is 1,000 individual comments to
CPAC. We will need every single collector's cooperation.
If you can't
figure out how to comment or what to say, send a note to me at
http://us.f387.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=director%40accg.us
for suggestions.
Become an activist, spread the word and encourage all
of your friends to comment. This is not a practice drill. With best regards and
hope for the future of our hobby,
Wayne G. Sayles
Executive
Director, ACCG
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| Publication Date: 01/31/2007 |
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