The Ancient Coin Collectors Guild (ACCG ) has commenced a benefit auction to help fund litigation designed to promote transparency and accountability in the State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs' (ECA's) process for handling import restrictions on cultural artifacts. http://www.vauctions.com/auctions/ The auction will run through September 24th.
Archaeological pressure groups opposed to the continued ability of the public to preserve, collect and study "unprovenanced" artifacts have benefited from subsidies not only from Universities and foreign sources, but even from the ECA itself. See http://culturalpropertyobserver.blogspot.com/2008/05/cash-and-caari-cyprus-american.html and http://culturalpropertyobserver.blogspot.com/2008/06/state-department-slush-fund-for.html
In contrast, ACCG operates solely based on dues or donations from its members see http://www.accg.us/membership/categories0 and monies generated from this auction.
ACCG has retained a FOIA expert to litigate its FOIA case against the State Department. That case is awaiting decision. ACCG has also retained my firm and the customs law experts at Serko Simon Gluck & Kane LLP to assist in prospective litigation to test import restrictions on coins of Cypriot and Chinese type. Even at much reduced rates, litigation is an expensive proposition making the ACCG auction an important funding tool.
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