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

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Not MAGA: Biden-Trump CPA Train Continues Chugging Along With New Grossly Overbroad Import Restrictions for Nepal

Today's Federal Register announced another grossly overbroad embargo, this time of Nepalese cultural goods dating from 32,000 BC to 1950...

Tuesday, August 4, 2026

Sector Insights: Coins as Cultural Goods: Promoting Conservation Over State Control in Low End Markets for Art and Cultural Goods (Palgrave MacMillian 2026)

CPO is honored to publish his views on coins as cultural goods in an open access book funded by the European Union entitled, Low-End Mark...

Monday, July 20, 2026

CPAC meets to discuss new Cultural Property Agreement with Romania and Renewals with Albania and Nigeria

On July 14, 2026, the US Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) met in a virtual public session to accept comments regarding a propose...

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Yes, CPAC there is a EU and Its Member States Allow Exports of Historical Coins

Here is what I said today, more or less, during the public session of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee to discuss a proposed Cultur...

Friday, June 12, 2026

Time Again to Tell the Cultural Property Advisory Committee What You Think About Import Restrictions on Coins and Other Artifacts, including Minority Cultural Heritage, for Romania, Albania and Nigeria

The State Department has announced a Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) Meeting to consider a new Cultural Property Agreement (CPA...

Thursday, June 4, 2026

Not MAGA: State Department Cultural Heritage Center Plans More Giveaways to Foreign Governments, this Time Romania, Albania and Nigeria

Today's Federal Register has announced that the Cultural Property Advisory Committee, made up entirely of Biden appointees , will con...

Thursday, May 14, 2026

Trump State Department Prioritizes "Soft Power" Outreach to Turkey's Authoritarian Government Over Protecting the Rights of American Collectors and Minority Groups

The Trump State Department has renewed a controversial Cultural Property Agreement with Turkey's authoritarian government over the obje...

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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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