As we have noted in the news recently, Greece can't take care of it's modern patrimony, this MOU is utterly ridiculous. All of antiquity belongs to the patrimony of humanity not just a single nation state whether or not they responsibly maintain their artifacts. The Nationalization of Antiquity actually attempts to revise history and "loot" it for what is agreeable only to the national entity. As we have seen, Greece cannot responsibly maintain itself as a fully functioning nation state, and Italy for that matter can barely maintain itself or it's patrimony (cf. the poor maintenance of Pompeii for example) though they both desire sole control over it. When will this insanity end?
--J. G.
The following is from
http://www.coinsweekly.com/en/News/4?&id=908
December 8, 2011 – The State Department has imposed broad import restrictions on Greek Cultural Artifacts including all ancient coins struck in Greece. Here comes the exact wording on coins from the Memorandum of Understanding, which has been published in the Federal Register Vol. 76, No. 231 / December 1, 2011:
Coins – Many of the mints of the listed coins can be found in B.V. Head, Historia Numorum: A Manual of Greek Numismatics (London, 1911) and C. M. Kraay, Archaic and Classical Greek Coins (London, 1976). Many of the Roman provincial mints in Greece are listed in A. Burnett et al., Roman Provincial Coinage I: From the Death of Caesar to the Death of Vitellius (44 BC-AD 69) (London, 1992) and id., Roman Provincial Coinage II: From Vespasian to Domitian (AD 69-96) (London, 1999).
a. Greek Bronze Coins – Struck by city-states, leagues, and kingdoms that operated in territory of the modern Greek state (including the ancient territories of the Peloponnese, Central Greece, Thessaly, Epirus, Crete and those parts of the territories of ancient Macedonia, Thrace and the Aegean islands that lay within the boundaries of the modern Greek state). Approximate date: 5th century B.C. to late 1st century B.C.
b. Greek Silver Coins – This category includes the small denomination coins of the city-states of Aegina, Athens, and Corinth, and the Kingdom of Macedonia under Philip II and Alexander the Great.
Such coins weigh less than approximately 10 grams and are known as obols, diobols, triobols, hemidrachms, and drachms. Also included are all denominations of coins struck by the other city-states, leagues, and kingdoms that operated in the territory of the modern Greek state (including the ancient territories of the Peloponnese, Central Greece, Thessaly, Epirus, Crete, and those parts of the territories of ancient Macedonia, Thrace and the Aegean islands that lie within the boundaries of the modern Greek state). Approximate date: 6th century B.C. to late 1st century B.C.
c.Roman Coins Struck in Greece – In silver and bronze, struck at Roman and Roman provincial mints that operated in the territory of the modern Greek state (including the ancient territories of the Peloponnese, Central Greece, Thessaly, Epirus, Crete, and those parts of the territories of ancient Macedonia, Thrace and the Aegean islands that lie within the boundaries of the modern Greek state). Approximate date: late 2nd century B.C. to 3rd century A.D.
Please note, all coins posted in this blog since 2007 left Greece or its environs prior to the MOU being issued and in many cases 20 or more years before 12-01-11. Most if not all are documented as such.
