Chinese authorities have reported that construction workers have found 200,000 more ancient coins-- this time in a well. See http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/200000-ancient-coins-found-in-china_100540893.html
This news news from China again calls into question the thought processes of our cultural bureaucrats.
US State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Cultural Heritage Center and US Customs and Border Protection bureaucrats consider ancient Chinese coins to be of "cultural significance." As a result, US collectors can no longer import these coins unless they are accompanied with extensive documentation that either does not exist for most ancient coins or is cost prohibitive to produce given their modest value.
However, China itself has no "provenance requirements" for collecting such coins and they can also be imported freely from abroad. And why not? The Chinese certainly understand they are not rare.
So, why do our own State Department and CBP bureaucrats demand of US Citizens what the Chinese do not require of their own citizens?
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