Monday, July 28, 2014

Trumped Up Charges?

The report that Egyptian customs officials have seized historical coins from a Sudanese citizen on his way to Australia should raise some questions.  First, the coins appear to be modern or though old, of little value.  Second, the claim they "were likely stolen from the Islamic museum" seems a bit odd.  Does the museum really hold such insignificant modern items in its stores?  Also, didn't prior reports suggest the museum was bombed not looted?  Finally, there is the fact that the perpetrator is Sudanese, a people who have suffered discrimination in Egypt.  Could this be little more than a story about customs officials finding some old coins on a passenger and jumping to conclusions to help justify the seizure?  One thing is for sure, such a story will provide little justification for efforts to impose US import restrictions on historic Egyptian coins of the sort widely and legally collected world-wide (except these days in Egypt).

1 comment:

John H said...

Oh dear, Mr Tompa...you are so wide of the mark.

Trumped-up charges you must understand, ONLY apply to archaeologists caught with THEIR sticky fingers in the cookie jar...I know this to be true: Mr Paul Barford who claims to be an archaeologist living in Warsaw, Poland, and who'd have the world believe he is an expert on such things, says so, as his take on what he perceives as the the wrongful jailing of Macedonia's top archaeologist proves.

The rest of us, you, me, and all US/UK numismatists and relic hunters are, on the Barfordian Scale of Ethics, thieves and vagabonds.

Warmest wishes

John Howland (UK Vagabond)
England