AIA View of China MOU

The AIA has posted its views of the China MOU on its website:

http://www.archaeological.org/webinfo.php?page=10497

Despite the generalities about why coins are important to archaeologists, I suspect Tang and Pre-Tang coins were probably restricted because they were sometimes used as grave goods. As those present at the CPAC hearing will recall, much of the focus of the discussion during the public session was on the looting of tombs. Of course, restricting even early coins glosses over the sheer number of ancient Chinese coins traded quite openly inside and outside China (there must be millions of cash coins extant) as well as the difficulty in separating restricted cash coins from those made up until circa 1911.