Cultural Property Observer

A Web Log Championing the Longstanding Interests of Collectors in the Preservation, Study, Display and Enjoyment of Cultural Artifacts Against an "Archaeology Over All" Perspective

Tuesday, September 2, 2025

Time Again to Tell the Cultural Property Advisory Committee What You Think About Import Restrictions on Coins for Taliban Afghanistan and Erdogan’s Türkiye

The State Department has announced a Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) Meeting to consider renewals of current “emergency” import...

Sunday, August 10, 2025

"Soft Power" Love for the Taliban: Trump State Department Continues to Prioritize the Interests of Foreign Despots and Archaeological Advocacy Groups Over Those of American Citizens

Collectors hoping Trump II would “make collecting great again" have been sorely disappointed. Instead, giveaways in the form of Cultur...

Saturday, July 26, 2025

Not MAGA: Trump Administration Implements Biden Embargo on "Indian" Cultural Goods

The Federal Register has announced long anticipated import restrictions on Indian cultural goods. This is yet another wide-reaching Biden A...

Thursday, May 22, 2025

Summary of CPAC Meeting to Discuss Proposed Cultural Property Agreement with Vietnam and Renewals of Cultural Property Agreements with Chile, Costa Rica, Italy and Morocco

On May 20, 2025, the US Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) met in a virtual public session to accept comments regarding a proposed...

Wednesday, May 21, 2025

It's Time for a Reset

Here is what I said, more or less, at yesterday's virtual Cultural Property Advisory Committee Meeting. I hope to post a full report of...

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

NOT MAGA- New Emergency Import Restrictions Mandate Repatriation of Cultural Goods Seized from Americans to the Failing State of Lebanon

US Customs has just announced very broad “emergency” import restrictions on “Lebanese” cultural goods: https://www.federalregister.go...

Sunday, May 4, 2025

Imposition of Import Restrictions on Archaeological and Ethnological Material of Uzbekistan

US Customs has announced broad new import restrictions on archaeological and ethnological objects for Uzbekistan’s authoritarian government ...

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About Me

Cultural Property Observer: Washington, DC, United States; Peter Tompa has collected ancient coins for almost 50 years. He has written and lectured about cultural property issues for a decade. He is a contributor to a chapter on numismatics in K. Fitz Gibbon ed., "Who Owns the Past?" (Rutgers 2005). He has lobbied members of the U.S. Congress and the Executive Branch in an effort to ensure that the small businesses of the numismatic trade receive fair treatment from federal regulators. He currently serves as a board member of the Cultural Policy Research Institute and the Ancient Coin Collectors Guild. He also has been a co-chair of the American Bar Association's Art & Cultural Heritage Law Committee. His advocacy has received notice in the media, including the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Art Newspaper and the Voice of America. He hopes his views as a collector and lawyer will provide a counterpoint to the "archaeology over all" perspective found in most blogs about cultural property issues. This Web page is a public resource for general information and opinion about cultural property issues, and is not intended to be a source for legal advice. Opinions expressed here are the author's own.

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