A Survey of the Material and Intellectual Consequences of Trading in Undocumented Ancient Coins: A Case Study on the North American Trade

Ancient coins are among the most widely collected and demanded objects among American collectors of antiquities. A vocal lobby of ancient coin dealers/collectors has arisen to protect the importation of undocumented material into the United States and also seeks to make a distinction between antiquities trafficking and that in ancient coins. Coins are an equally important historical source and are no less important 'antiquities' than a Greek painted vase. I examine the scale of the trade in ancient coins in North America and address some points made by proponents of a continued unfettered ancient coin trade.

[1]  J. Holzhausen.  Pindar und die Orphik. Zu frg. 133 Snell / Maehler , 2004 .

[2]  Morag M. Kersel,et al.  Archaeology, Cultural Heritage, and the Antiquities Trade , 2006 .

[3]  Neil Adams.  L'Agora di Cirene II, 3. L'Area meridionale del lato ovest dell'Agora. By Purcaro Valeria. Monografie di Archeologia Libica XXIV, Roma 2000. ISBN 88-8265-116-9. pp. 110, b/w plates 25, numerous b/w plans and elevations. , 2002, Libyan Studies.

[4]  A. Fuks.  Aspects of the Jewish Revolt in A.D. 115–117 , 1961, Journal of Roman Studies.

[5]  F. Kemmers.  Not at random: evidence for a regionalised coin supply? , 2005 .

[6]  M. Peter.  Untersuchungen zu den Fundmünzen aus Augst und Kaiseraugst , 2001 .

[7]  C. Haselgrove,et al.  Iron Age Coinage and Ritual Practices , 2005 .

[8]  L. Laing.  Coins and archaeology , 1970, Britannia.

[9]  S. Cole.  LANDSCAPES OF DIONYSOS AND ELYSIAN FIELDS , 2005 .

[10]  C. Bernard,et al.  The use and abuse of history , 1976, Medical History.

[11]  J. Harrison.  Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion , 1991 .

[12]  C. Todeschini,et al.  The Medici Conspiracy: The Illicit Journey of Looted Antiquities--From Italy's Tomb Raiders to the World's Greatest Museums , 2006 .

[13]  G. Zuntz.  Persephone: three essays on religion and thought in Magna Graecia , 1971 .

[14]  A. Bernabé.  La toile de Pénélope : a-t-il existé un mythe orphique sur Dionysos et les Titans ? , 2002 .

[15]  Christopher Mason.  The Art of the Steal: Inside the Sotheby's-Christie's Auction House Scandal , 2004 .

[16]  C. Howgego.  Ancient History from Coins , 1995 .

[17]  Luigi Pernier.  Il Tempio e l'Altare di Apollo a Cirene , 1937, The Journal of Hellenic Studies.

[18]  Morag M. Kersel,et al.  From the Ground to the Buyer A Market Analysis of the Trade in Illegal Antiquities , 2006 .

[19]  P. Fraser.  Hadrian and Cyrene , 1950, Journal of Roman Studies.

[20]  E. M. Smallwood.  Documents Illustrating the Principates of Nerva, Trajan and Hadrian , 1966 .

[21]  D. White,et al.  L'agora di Cirene. I Lati Nord ed Est della Platea Inferiore , 1967 .

[22]  A. Spawforth,et al.  The World of the Panhellenion II. Three Dorian Cities , 1986, Journal of Roman Studies.

[23]  L. Bacchielli.  L'Agorà di Cirene II, 1 : l'area settentrionale del lato ovest della platea inferiore , 1981 .

[24]  J. Oliver,et al.  Greek Constitutions of Early Roman Emperors from Inscriptions and Papyri , 1991 .

[25]  A. Laronde.  Cyrène et la Libye hellénistique – Libykai Historiai – de l’époque républicaine au principat d’Auguste , 1987 .

[26]  F. Kemmers,et al.  Coins for a legion. An analysis of the coin finds from the Augustan legionary fortress and Flavian canabae legionis at Nijmegen , 2007 .

[27]  C. Kraay.  Archaic and classical Greek coins , 1977 .

[28]  Radcliffe G. Edmonds.  Tearing Apart the Zagreus Myth: A Few Disparaging Remarks on Orphism and Original Sin , 1999 .

[29]  The Temple of Zeus at Cyrene , 1958 .